Re-Living The Dream
by 88Jade88
Summary: Follow Alexa Torres as she fights her way back into the WWE after a life-threatening injury forced her to be out of action for 3 years. This is the second part of Alexa's journey. I've decided to pause the first part of the story, I'm planing to go back to it at a later date.
1. Chapter 1 - Prologue

Alexandra Torres was born on December 1st 1985 to Amanda Campbell and Vito Torres in Juárez, Mexico. Her father had been a prominent wrestler in Mexico for some years and had met her mother during one of his frequent visits to the emergency room where she worked as a nurse.

Growing up, her father had been close friends with Eddie Guerrero. They lived just houses apart and were almost inseparable as children, which had transcended into most of their adult life too.

When she had been too young to go with her father to his shows, and her mother working, she had been left in the care of Vickie Guerrero, Eddie's wife. They had a young daughter too, with Shaul being born four years after Alexa. The pair had become fast friends and were more like sister as time went on, being as close as their fathers were.

Her father suffered a devastating leg injury during one of his shows and he had to make the heart-breaking decision to retire from the sport her loved. So, when she was ten, the Torres family upped sticks and moved all the way to Toronto, Canada. Her mother's home town.

Alexa hated it. She missed the Guerrero's. She missed wrestling. Just like her father, she had fallen in love with it and couldn't ever imagine herself ever doing anything else. After almost a year of constant nagging, her father finally relented and bought a small ring and set it up in their back yard and he started training her.

Two years later, he passed away.

Things had already been strained between her and her mother, they had never really bonded like she had with her father. This just made things worse. After the funeral, her mother went out into the yard destroyed the ring, telling her she wasn't going to let her wrestle any more. They argued and argued and Alexa ended up leaving, her mother giving her enough money for flight to Texas.

Eddie had been signed to the WWE at this point, and Vickie and Shaul were living in Florida with their youngest daughter, Sherilyn. So Alexa ended up being taken in by Mando, who had also been close with her father, who agreed to carry on her training.

When she was fifteen, Mando pulled some strings with some of his contacts and she headed to the Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre, one of the most prominent independent promotions in Mexico. There wasn't a big women's division down there at the time, so they just decided to put her in a mask, wrap her chest, and have her appear as a man.

She remained down there for a couple of years, going on to do some work with the Asistencia Asesoría y Administración, another top promotion down there. Eventually, she returned to the States, and went to Ring Of Honor. She hadn't been with them for very long when she was scouted, and eventually signed, by the WWE.

She made her on-screen debut on Raw in March 2004, being paired with Chris Jericho in his fued against Trish Stratus and Christian. The next four years were a complete whirlwind for Alexa. There were good times and bad times; she had the opportunity to work with some amazing people, make some life-long friends and she fell in love. But the bad times almost overshadowed the good, with Eddie's untimely passing effecting her heavily. And then, in 2008, everything fell apart...


	2. Chapter 2

''Come on, Torres. I know you can do it.''

Alexa inhaled deeply as she stood facing the turnbuckle, preparing to climb to the top. Her hands faltered as she clutched the ropes and she closed her eyes. ''I can't...''

Colby 'Seth Rollins' Lopez and Jon 'Dean Ambrose' Good were sitting a few feet away from the ring, going over some ideas for their upcoming promo. Darren 'William Regal' Matthews was sitting a few feet away, keenly watching what was going on inside the ring. Tom Prichard, the head trainer for FCW was trying his best to coax the woman to climb up to the top rope but was visibly losing his patience with her.

The man threw his hands up in the air in frustration. ''Oh, for fucks sake! It's not rocket science, just get up there!''

Colby and Jon shared an uneasy look as the shouting drew their attention towards the ring. Both men had seen Alexa around the building during their time at the WWE's developmental territory, but neither had ever spoken to her. In fact, the only people she appeared to socialize with was Darren, Shaul Guerrero and Joe Anoa'i, she mostly kept herself to herself.

Off to the side of them Darren rose from his chair, ready to intervene if he had to. The three watched as Alexa released her vice-like grip from the ropes, her arms dropping to her sides as she turned around. She opened her mouth to say something as she stepped towards him, before thinking better of it and snapping it closed.

The man sighed and ran a hand over his face. ''It's been nearly three years... You could be back on the main roster by now, but you're still in the same place you were when you first came here... You need to suck it up and get the fuck over it!"

Alexa stared at him blankly for a few moments before breezing past him to climb out of the ring. ''You know what, you can go fuck yourself!'' She peeled off her WWE t-shirt, leaving her in just her sports-bra and joggers, before throwing it at him angrily.

Jon let out a loud snort as it hit Tom square in the face, his companion giving him a look of reproach as he elbowed him in the ribs.

The woman marched towards the exit, while raising her arm in the air and flipping him the bird. ''I fucking quit!''

Alexa kept her head down as she made her way through the building, heading towards the parking lot. As soon as the sunlight hit her face she let the tears fall, angrily swiping at them with her hands. She was halfway to her car when she suddenly realized that, in her haste to leave, she had left her bag inside. Of course, her car keys happened to be in said bag. She refused to give Tom the satisfaction of walking back in there after her big walk-out. Letting out a huff, she walked over to the grass verge that was to the side of the building. Sitting down, she closed her eyes and leant back against the wall.

It felt like her whole life was spinning out of control.

Everything had been going so well... her career had taken off and was better than anything she could have ever dreamed. She had an awesome group of friends and an amazing boyfriend... then it all went to shit.

On the 13th of July 2008, she had found out that Randy had been unfaithful nine months earlier, and that had resulted in a baby. She had been beyond shocked, not even suspecting anything had been wrong in their relationship. They had their ups and downs like any other couple did, but overall they were happy, or so she thought.

When the whole thing blew up, Randy was out with a clavicle injury that he had sustained during his match against Triple H at One Night Stand the previous month. She had walked into the Roanoke Civic Center for a house show that evening, blissfully unaware of the impending heartbreak that was to come.

* * *

_Alexa hummed to herself as she wandered through the arena, following the signs to the catering area. She had just driven the two and a half hours from Charleston, West Virgina to Roanoke, Virginia without stopping and really needed something to drink. _

_As soon as she stepped foot in the room, everyone stopped talking and the room went deathly silent. A look of confusion furrowed her brow as she looked around at everyone, they all looked uncomfortable and none of them would meet her eyes. She quickly grabbed a bottle of water and left wondering what the hell was going on._

_She made her way down to the women's locker room and as soon as she stepped inside, her heart dropped. Mickie James and Phil 'CM Punk' Brooks, two of her closest friends, were all sat on the bench, obviously awaiting her arrival as they all stood when she entered._

_''What the fuck is going on?'' She asked, an uneasy look on her face. ''Everyone's looking at me like someone killed my puppy and...'' _

_Mickie moved over to her and placed a hand on her back, trying to steer her over to the bench. ''Come sit down.''_

_Alexa shrugged her off and crossed her arms over her chest. ''Just tell me.'' _

_Phil heaved out a sigh and held out a newspaper. She snatched it out of his hands and glanced down at the headline, letting out a snort. ''Is this some kind of joke?'' _

_**WWE Star Randy Orton Has A New Title... Dad.**_

_**Alanna Marie Orton was born Saturday July 12th at 9:24 pm...**_

_Alexa tore her eyes away from the page, the expressions on both of their faces telling her that it wasn't. She moved away from Phil as he reached out to comfort her, stumbling backwards towards the door. ''I... I can't...''_

_As soon as she stepped out of the room, her eyes filled with tears as s__he frantically tried to make sense of it all. Walking swiftly down the hallway, she pulled her phone out of her pocket, finding over thirty missed calls and a handful of voice mails from Randy. Sucking in a deep breath to steel herself, she dialled his number and waited._

_''Lex-''_

_''Is it true?'' She cut him off quickly._

_''Lex-''_

_''Is it true?'' _

_''Yes...''_

_Fresh burning tears poured down her cheeks and she tried to keep her voice steady as she spoke. ''Don't call me again, Randy.''_

_''Wait, I-''_

_Alexa ended the call, covering her mouth with her hand to muffle the sobs. The phone started ringing and she violently hurled it towards the wall, watching as it shattered along with her heart. _

_The next thing she knew, a pair of strong, tattooed arms wrapped around her and pulled her into a tight hug. Immediately recognizing the tattoos as Phil's, she buried her face in his chest. ''I hate him.''_

_''It's going to be okay, Lex." Phil said softly, rubbing her back as she cried into his chest._

* * *

_Alexa kept her head down as she walked through the __United States RBC Center. __They were in Raleigh, North Carolina for Raw and she was booked in a match against Mickie for the Women's Championship. They were in the process of slowly turning Sierra heel so she had been going up against Mickie a lot recently, trying to get some heat from the crowd._

_After she had unloaded on John the previous night, she had collected herself enough to pull of her spot in the show without a hitch. After that, she had just fallen to pieces again. She had caught a ride to Raleigh with John straight after the show, he insisted on driving and she just sat in the back trying to get her head together._

_''Lex!"_

_She looked up and felt herself start to tear up at the sight of Chris 'Jericho' Irvine jogging towards her. Dropping her bag on the floor, she closed the gap between them and practically jumped into his waiting arms. ''Thank God you're here.'' Her voice faltered as she tried to keep the tears at bay._

_Chris gave her one last squeeze before he pulled back and studied her. ''You look like shit.'' _

_She chuckled and swiped at her eyes, feeling a few tears escape. ''I know... How's Jess? And the kids?''_

_''The kids are all good, getting to be a bit of a handful though. Jess sends her love too.''_

_Alexa and Chris had been really close ever since they had been put in a storyline together when she first debuted in the WWE. They had just clicked and become best friends almost instantly. His wife Jessica had warmed to her right away too, and over the years she had become part of the Irvine family. They had even named one of their twins, Sierra, after her._

_''I... I don't know what to do, Chris.'' _

_He clenched his jaw angrily. ''He's just lucky he's not here. A lot of the guys are pissed...''_

_''Why?''_

_''Because of you, Lex. They're pissed that he would do something like that to you. You know everyone loves you and they've all got your back.''_

* * *

_Later that night, Alexa and Mickie had been in the ring for nearly ten minutes when the referee told them it was time to start wrapping things up. The crowd was loving the match but they were cheering for the both of them and not just for Mickie, like they were hoping. But any reaction was a good reaction, so they just went with it._

_After being hit with a powerful DDT, Mickie was laid out in the ring and the crowd roared as Alexa climbed to the top rope, knowing what was coming next. She balanced herself, preparing to execute a corkscrew shooting star press which the WWE had dubbed the 'DeltaWave'. Just as she went to push herself off the top ropes, her foot caught on something. _

_Her heart leapt into her throat as she found herself unable to catch her balance and she felt herself falling backwards. She frantically tried to grab at the ring post in a last-ditch effort to sway the motion, she knew she wouldn't land safely. From the angle at which she was dropping, all she could see were the steel steps as she landed head first straight onto them. __The 'thwack' she made when she hit seemed to echo through the arena and sent the crowd into a stunned silence._

_Alexa blacked out for a moment before opening her eyes, only to find herself face-down and staring down at the mat. She went to push herself up, only to find that she couldn't and she started to freak out._

_Mike Chioda, who was the referee for the match, rolled out of the ring and crouched down beside her. ''You okay?''_

_''I can't move.''_

_He reached out to grasp her hand, which had lain completely limp by the side of her head, before giving it a gentle squeeze. ''Can you feel that?''_

_She sucked in a breath as the panic started to build. ''No.''_

_He cursed under his breath before he jumped up and raised his hands above his head into an X shape, the universal sign to alert backstage officials and paramedics that it's a legitimate injury. _

_He shuffled away from her and the form of Doctor Chris Amann took his place, bending down so she could see him. He gave her a reassuring smile after sweeping the hair off of her face so she could see more clearly. ''Okay, I need you to squeeze my hand.''_

_Alexa focused all of her attention on the hand, willing it to move. ''I can't...'' She let out a shaky breath as she felt her eyes start to tear up._

_''Okay.'' He put her hand back where it was, patting it gently. ''Pain rating, 1-10?''_

_''7... The tops of my shoulders... And my face and chest feel like their burning.''_

_He nodded before turning to another referee who had appeared. ''We need to get an ambulance ready, now.''_

_''My neck's broken isn't it?'' She asked, choking back a sob._

_''It looks that way.'' responded with a grimace. ''We'll know more after we get you to the hospital.''_

_The next few minutes passed in a haze for Alexa._

_A few more members of the medical team had rushed out from backstage and they had gently put a neck collar on her before loading her on to a backboard. The crowd remained still deathly silent as they wheeled her through to the back area._

_As soon as they reached the backstage area she could hear people bustling around, asking what had happened and if she was alright. She kept her eyes closed and she kept her breathing under control, trying to stop herself from getting hysterical as the time passed and she still hadn't recovered any feeling._

_''Get out of the fucking way you moron... Let me through!"_

_Alexa's eyes sprang open and she was immediately greeted by the concerned face of Chris. She tried to force out a smile but ended up just bursting into tears. _

_''Hey, hey, hey... Don't cry, come on.'' He picked up her hand and swallowed hard when he felt how limp it was. ''They're going to fix you right up, you'll be good as new in no time.''_

_Stephanie soon appeared, looking more frazzled than normal as she looked down at her with a small smile. ''The ambulance is almost here.''_

_''Please, I don't want to go by myself...''_

_''Chris will go with you... Where the fuck is this ambulance?!'' Stephanie screeched as she went to find out what was taking so long._

_''Chris, I'm scared...''_

_He leaned down and planted a soft kiss on her hairline. ''You're going to be okay, kid.''_

* * *

Chris hadn't told her this until a long time after, but there was a point when the doctors had really thought that she wasn't going to survive. She had broken her C1, C2 and then she had herniated her C5 and C6. But the C1 is shaped like a ring at the base of your skull and it controls all of your range of motion. apparently, what usually happens is that bone will snap inward and it'll sever all the nerves there which controls your breathing, controls the blood pumping to your brain, everything. Somehow, by some miracle, Alexa's had gone in, hit her spinal cord and bounced back out. They had to sedate her to keep her completely stabilized, because any slight movement could have made that bone go in and she could have died.

She had been extremely lucky but the doctors told her that she probably wouldn't be able to move again. Three days later, after lying in ICU trying to come to terms with everything... she had moved for the first time.

She had been in too much pain to even try to walk and was finally resigned to the fact that she would probably never be able to wrestle again. Then in walked Amy 'Lita' Dumas. The two had been close when they were working together during Alexa's first couple of years with the company, but then she retired and they eventually lost touch.

Amy gave her the mother of all motivational speeches, told her to stop feeling sorry for herself and get up and get on with her life. She had gone through something similar when she broke her neck back in 2003, so she knew what she was talking about. Amy had left after spending a little time with her and later that day she managed to walk down the hall to the bathroom.

A lot of people had stopped by during those first few days, all the support had been really overwhelming. Vince and Stephanie had been the first people to stop by, which really meant a lot to her. They were filled with reassurances that she wouldn't have to worry about any medical expenses and that they would take care of that side of things, all she had to do was focus on getting better.

Mickie and Phil had been the first to visit her after the McMahon's had left, what with them being her closest friends in the company at the time, closely followed by John Cena. Practically everybody she knew had been to visit her during those first few days, everyone except Randy. Which she was thankful for, she wasn't sure how she would have coped if he had turned up. A lot of her friends had voiced their opinion that they thought what happened was partly his fault, which she found a bit offensive. She was professional enough to put her personal troubles to the back of her mind when she was out in the ring, it had been just a freak accident.

After recovering from the surgery, Alexa had gone through months and months of physical therapy, including a lot at the Clearwater Spine & Rehabilitation. She had decided to move house long before she suffered the injury and had originally planned to get a place with Randy, but that had obviously changed given everything that had happened. The main reason she had chosen to move to Florida was to be closer to her friends. It was just an added bonus that she would be a short distance away from the rehab centre and the FCW building, where she knew she would be headed as soon as she was ready to return.

Jenna, her friend that she lived with up in Toronto, had handled everything to do with the sale of the house and Chris and Jess had helped her find a new place in the Florida area. After all of her belongings had been shipped down, she had enlisted some people to help her since she couldn't do any of it herself. Adam and Chris had made themselves useful by doing all the heavy lifting for her and Jason 'Christian' Reso had stopped by during his days off from TNA to help out too. John had also offered to help out, but had left shortly after arguing with Alexa. They had always been good friends, or at least she thought they had been. John had admitted that he had known about Randy cheating on her the whole time. Even when he found out about the pregnancy, he still decided not to tell her. She had been beyond angry with him at the time and practically banished him from her life. They were just starting to get back on friendly terms now, but she doubted that it would ever be the same as before.

It had been well over two years since the accident. Her neck was strong thanks to all the rehab she was doing and she was physically in the best shape of her life, but she was still no closer to getting back into that ring. She had trained down at FCW for about six months, only just stepping back inside the ring recently. There was a few moves she felt comfortable doing and she could do simple bumps but as soon as she tried to get up to that top rope, she froze. She just couldn't do it.

''Ahem.''

Alexa was suddenly torn from her inner musings and reluctantly opened her eyes, expecting to see Tom standing in front of her. Instead, she discovered the two men who had been near the ring earlier staring down at her. She cocked an eyebrow as she looked between the pair, neither man had ever said a single word to her so she wondered what they wanted.

''You forgot this.'' Colby dangled her bag in front of her cautiously, half-expecting her to snap at him.

She eyed the pink and black tote bag before looking up at him. ''Oh, I don't know...'' Her lips curled into a smirk. ''It looks good on you, maybe you should keep hold of it.''

Both men chuckled and he dropped it into her waiting hands. "Listen, a bunch of us are going out for a few drinks tonight... We wondered if you wanted to join us?''

A small, disbelieving laugh escaped her lips. "You don't even know me... did Darren put you up to this?"

Colby shook his head quickly. ''Of course not. It's just... well, you've been here for a while now but you don't really talk to any of us... And everyone's been too afraid to approach you because, well...''

''You walk around looking like you want to murder somebody.'' Jon cut in with a shrug.

''Jon!" Colby looked appalled and gaped at his friend.

Alexa's lips twitched at his bluntness and she nodded. ''No, he's right. I've been in a shitter of a mood recently.''

''Hey, no one can blame you.'' Colby told her softly, shooting her a smile.

She swallowed hard as the memories started to come rushing back, quickly shaking her head and aiming a grin at the pair in front of her. ''Okay. Where are we going?''


	3. Chapter 3

As soon as she got home, she was already severely regretting her decision. It had been so long since she had gone on a night out, she was just feeling extremely anxious about the whole thing.

During her time off she had avoided social gatherings like the plague, preferring to just be alone. Cutting herself off from everyone had been the worst thing she could have done. It gave her the time to dwell on all the negative thoughts that were going through her head and she had spiralled into a deep depression.

Chris and Jess been the two that had ultimately pulled her out of it. As soon as they realized how down she had become, they took matters into their own hands. They had invaded her home, packed her some stuff and practically dragged her to live with them for a little while. Although Chris wasn't around much becasue he was on the road, Jess and the kids were around all the time. Having that constant presence around her had helped more than she thought.

_**Heeey heeeey heeeeey**_

_**Your lipstick stains on the front lobe of my left side brains**_

Hearing her phone ringing, she snapped out of her daze and grabbed the phone out of her pocket. "Hello?"

_''Hello, I just thought I'd give you a quick call to see how you were?'' _Darren's voice came through the speaker.

''I'm okay, he just pissed me off.''

He chuckled. _''Yes, I thought he might have. Not to worry, you won't be training with him anymore.''_

''What?'' She asked, frowning. ''I didn't mean it when I quit, it was just a heat of the moment thing.''

_''I know. You had every right to be angry. I've had words with him, he won't be so insensitive in the future.''_

Alexa snorted and put on her best English accent. ''Were you defending my honour, Mr. Regal?''

_''That was awful, but yes, in theory. To be honest, I was half-expecting you to deck him.''_ Darren laughed before his tone turned sombre. _''The old Lex would have... you've lost your fire, dear girl.''_

She let out a frustrated sigh. ''I don't know what's wrong with me...''

_''We'll get you there.''_

''We?''

_''I've spoken to Steve Keirn and Paul and they both agreed that a different approach might be best. From now on I'll be overseeing your training.''_

Paul Levesque had recently taken over the role of Executive Vice President of Talent Relations, replacing John Laurinaitis. His new role meant that he oversees the talent relations and talent development departments and the training of performers and management of worldwide recruitment.

Alexa scoffed loudly. ''Good luck with that. I'm useless, you saw me earlier.''

_''But I've also seen you at your best... remember when you made three of the top men in the company legitimately tap out?''_

Alexa laughed as she remembered that day. Chris had voiced his opinion that her finishing move, the corkscrew shooting star press, was easy and that he could easily do it. They had headed down to the ring before a show one night to test that theory and it had turned into an impromptu sparring session.

* * *

_''You ready to admit defeat yet?'' _

_Alexa stood over him, arms crossed over her chest and a shit-eating grin on her face. _

_Chris groaned as he lay on the mat. ''No...''_

_''Come on, dude.'' Adam spoke, trying to be the voice of reason for once. ''We've been out here for over an hour and you still can't do it.''_

_''Yeah.'' Randy called from his position outside the ring, leaning beside Adam against the barricade. He had made his way to the arena shortly after his girlfriend had, deciding to come down to the ring to see how they were getting on. ''You suck, man.''_

_Chris lifted his arm and raised his middle finger in their direction. ''Show me one more time.'' He demanded as he stubbornly got to his feet._

_Rolling her eyes, Alexa climbed to the top rope and executed a perfect shooting star press before standing and looking at him expectantly._

_''Now do the twisty one.'' He wiggled his finger to illustrate._

_''Corkscrew.'' She corrected before moving back up to the top rope and doing as he asked._

_Chris took in a deep breath before letting out a heavy sigh. ''Fine. I give up, I can't do it.''_

_''And?'' She prompted._

_''And... you're amazing in the ring... for a chick.''_

_She scowled and socked him in the arm. ''You're an ass.'' He pouted and stepped towards her, wrapping his arms around her neck and smashing his cheek against hers. "Chris!" She shrieked, struggling to shake him off. "Get the hell off of me!" _

_''What are you doing to the poor woman, Irvine?''_

_''Help me, Darren.'' Alexa cried dramatically, instantly recognizing the voice as that of Darren Matthews._

_The Englishman chuckled as he made his way down the ramp, taking a seat beside the other two men. ''I think you can manage, my dear.'' _

_''Yeah, kick his ass, Lex!'' A southern drawl rang out._

_The pair glanced over to the ramp where they found Matt Hardy making his way down, closely followed by Nora and Amy._

_''Shut up, hardly!" _

_Chris' grip on her relaxed as he playfully shouted abuse to the other man, giving Alexa an opening. She elbowed him sharply, making him let her go so he could catch his breath. As soon as his arms lowered she quickly moved hers to latch around his head, putting him in a tight headlock. His surprised laugh was cut short when she jabbed her foot into the back of his leg and brought him down to his knees. _

_Alexa aimed another kick to his back which dropped him face-first to the mat. Leaning all of her weight on him to stop him from moving, she hooked his arm and locked in the Fujiwara armbar. _

_She could hear the small group outside the ring cheering and laughing as he tried to fight out of the move._

_"Tap." She shouted, applying more pressure to his arm._

_''Ten bucks on Lex.'' Randy stated confidently._

_''Nah, Chris' got this in the bag.'' Adam called out._

_"Piss off Copeland, you're next!" _

_Alexa let out a surprised squeal when Chris suddenly powered out of the move. He scissored his legs around her left arm, grabbing hold of her wrist and pulling it upwards, hyper-extending her shoulder and elbow._

_''My money's on Chris.'' Amy piped up as she watched the action inside the ring._

_''Hey!" Alexa shouted from inside the ring. ''Us girls are meant to stick together Aimes!"_

_''I've got your back, Lex.'' Nora smiled and gave her a thumbs-up._

_''Tap?'' Chris asked mockingly as he fought to hold her still, she was a lot stronger than she looked._

_''Screw you.'' She hissed as she tried, and failed, to pry his legs apart with her free hand. _

_''You might be good, Lex, but I'm bett- AHHH!''_

_His boasting was cut short when Alexa sank her teeth into his calf, making him release his hold on her arm and roll away from her. Before he could do anything about it, she had her own version of the Muta lock secured. Instead of locking her arms around his neck which was the most common way to do it, she had them stretched under his arms and locked under his chin._

_''What the hell is that?'' Randy asked, gazing at the pair in the ring._

_''I believe it's a variation of the inverted Indian deathlock facelock, it's used quite a bit over in Japan.'' Darren replied as he looked on in surprise. ''I've never seen it applied like that before.''_

_''Uncle! Uncle, you crazy bitch!'' Chris cried, tapping three times on the canvas._

_She unhooked her arms and legs and got to her feet, grinning at the praising claps coming from outside the ring._

_The blonde groaned as he slowly got to his feet, rubbing his back ''I'm getting too old for this shit.'' He mumbled as he gingerly climbed out of the ring, being given a consoling pat on the back by Darren and Matt._

_Alexa laughed and turned to the group, her eyes searching out the other blonde Canadian in attendance. She moved over to the side of the ring that was closest to him and sat on the middle rope, gesturing for him to get in. Adam held up his hands and shook his head with a chuckle. _

_''Scared?'' She goaded with smirk._

_He narrowed his eyes and pushed himself from the barricade. ''I bet Chris let you win.''_

_Chris shook his head. ''I wish...''_

_Adam climbed into the ring and everybody watched as the two circled each other for a few seconds._

_Alexa was about to lunge towards him but her eyes drifted to something behind him. ''What are they doing out here?''_

_He turned around to see who she meant and found Paul and Dave sauntering down the ramp. Taking advantage of the distraction, she quickly moved her arms under Adam's and put her hands behind his head. Before he could even try to power out of it, she jumped up and wrapped her legs around his middle._

_Dave and Paul greeted the others and each grabbed a chair, watching on with interest as Adam staggered around the ring with Alexa on his back. ''What's going on?'' _

_Randy turned to grin at the bigger man. ''Lex is kicking ass, it's awesome.''_

_''Try being on the receiving end of it...'' Chris said bitterly._

_Paul snorted and looked him over. ''You got beat by a girl?''_

_''I made him tap out!" Alexa shouted over to them proudly, still hanging on to Adam despite his attempts to throw her off._

_''She had him in a rather unique Muta lock, it was quite impressive.'' Darren told them with a small smile._

_''Come on, Lex. Give up now, before you get hurt.'' Adam said in a patronizing voice._

_Vaguely, Alexa heard Randy mutter to someone. "Oh, he's a goner..."_

_Scowling, she tightened the grip of her hands and squeezed her thighs as hard as she could. He stumbled momentarily, managing a few steps before dropping down to the mat with a pained whimper. _

_Alexa inched her head towards Adam's ear. ''You give?''_

_''No.'' He wheezed, making the others laugh even more. She applied even more pressure to his middle, his face starting to go red with the strain of trying to catch his breath. ''Okay, okay, I give... Uncle!''_

_She quickly released him and rolled away from him as he clutched at his ribs, panting heavily. Rising to her feet, she peered down at him before offering him a hand. He latched on to it and she helped him up, a sheepish look on her face. ''Sorry.''_

_''I guess I deserved it...'' He admitted, hobbling over to the ropes and climbing out of the ring to sit beside Chris._

_''That was hilarious, you should have seen how red your face was.'' Paul chortled._

_Dave shook his head at the two men. ''I can't believe you both got your asses handed to you, she's a tiny slip of a thing compared to you two.''_

_''She's a lot stronger than she looks!" Chris told him defensively. ''Right, Adam?''_

_Adam nodded vigorously. ''She's got thighs of steel, man.''_

_''Dude, they are Canadian...'' Randy added with a teasing grin._

_''Ah, that explains it.'' Dave chuckled._

_''Hey!'' She exclaimed, an offended look on her face. ''I'm Canadian too, jackass!" _

_''I think you've pissed her off, Randal.'' Chris told him._

_''He just wants to provoke her so she wraps her 'thighs of steel' around him.'' Paul wiggled his eyebrows suggestively._

_Randy laughed at the faint blush that covered her cheeks. ''I don't think she's stupid enough to think that she could beat me, right babe?''_

_''Of course not... I wouldn't want to embarrass you in front of everyone.''_

_''Ooooh!" Nora and Amy cried in unison._

_They all watched on in amusement as Randy let out a surprised laugh, arching an eyebrow at her as she crossed her arms over her chest pointedly. They had a brief stare-down, before he whipped off his t-shirt and rolled into the ring._

_''We need to film this...'' Chris told everyone._

_''Already got it covered, man.'' Matt waved his phone at him gleefully. ''I've been filming the whole thing.''_

_Randy smirked as he stood opposite her, bouncing on the balls of his feet before flexing the muscles in his chest. He let his eyes scan her form appreciatively, the workout bra and capris hugging her curves._

_Alexa tore her eyes away from her boyfriend's naked chest and rolled her neck before smirking at him. ''You're going down, Orton." _

_''Oh, you wish, babe.'' He responded with a lascivious wink._

_Her mouth dropped open at the innuendo before she contorted her face into a neutral expression before lunging at him. Expecting this, he swung his arm out and she expertly ducked under it and ran towards the ropes as he turned around. As she bounced back she jumped up, planting her feet in his chest and wrapping her hands around the back of his neck before pulling all of her weight back towards the mat and kicking him over her body. _

_Randy sailed through the air and landed on his back with a loud thud. "Fuck." He moaned._

_Alexa scrambled to her feet as she waited for him to stand, smiling to herself when she saw the annoyed look on his face. As soon as he was upright, he charged at her only to land flat on his face when she dropped down and swept his feet from under him._

_Before he knew what was happening, she slapped him in a cross armbar, the same move Chris had used on her earlier. Her feet were locked at the ankles over his chest and she had his wrist in a vice-like grip. _

_He swore under his breath, quickly realizing that he wasn't getting out of it, no matter how much he struggled against her. _

_Alexa smiled to herself when she heard Paul's booming laugh come from outside the ring, the others laughter soon joining his. She pushed her pelvis out a little more, making his elbow twinge painfully. He let out a heavy sigh as he reached up and tapped three times on the top of her leg._

* * *

Darren's voice brought her back to the present. _''I still have that footage somewhere, I'll have to dig it out.''_

''Did you ask Colby and Jon to invite me out with them tonight?'' She asked, completely changing the subject.

_''No...''_

''Liar.''

_''You've been down at FCW for months now, it's about time you made some friends.'' _He told her softly.

''I guess...'' She pondered that for a few minutes before something else popped into her head. ''Hey, do I really walk around looking like I want to kill somebody?''

_''Why would you say that?''_

''Just something Jon said earlier.''

_''Yes, that sounds like Jon.'' _He said with a laugh.

''What's his deal anyway?''

_''He's brilliant, really talented... When he first came here, they were doing a presentation skills workshop... the trainers were picking on the people they thought were unimpressive. They were asking developmental guys to go up and cut promos, just to see if they had the mustard to stand out. One of them wanted to see what 'Mox' could do, not really expecting him to turn anything out. Jon then got in the middle of the ring and proceeded to cut a promo that was so intense that it made one of the guys piss himself. After that, he was given the green light to move straight up to the TV tapings. That was before even seeing him wrestle.''_

''Impressive.'' She whistled, knowing that he didn't heap praise like that on just anybody.

_''He's definitely one to watch, that's for sure... I should let you go. I know you females like to spend hours getting ready.''_


	4. Chapter 4

Alexa paced through her living room, glancing over at the clock. Colby would be stopping by any minute to pick her up and she couldn't remember the last time she had felt so nervous.

Her make-up was to perfection; a light layer of foundation covered the blemishes on her face. Her lips were coated a deep red and she had miraculously managed to pull of the smoky-eye effect, probably from all the times she had spent watching other people do it for her. Deciding not to bother straightening the natural waves of her hair, she let her chestnut locks flow down to the middle of her back.

She was wearing a black, bustier-style crop-top which was embellished with lace, showing off her toned midriff. With that she had on a tangerine orange coloured asymmetric, waterfall skirt, with the front reaching mid-thigh. Her feet were cased in a pair of black, strappy wedges which added a few inches to her 5'7'' frame.

Hearing a succession of knocks, she quickly slipped on her black leather jacket before grabbing her purse and making her way over to the door. She greeted Colby with a friendly smile. ''Hey.''

He grinned back at her. ''Hey, you look nice.''

''Thank you.'' She looked over his jeans and dress shirt combination as she stepped outside. ''You too.''

They made their way over to his car in a comfortable silence, strapping themselves in before setting off. ''I feel I should give you a heads up, a couple of the girls are super excited that you're coming tonight. Be ready for fan-girling.''

Alexa let out a groan and leaned back on the head-rest. ''Way to make me even more nervous...''

''It'll be fine.'' He laughed, sparing her a quick glance as he drove. ''Why are you nervous?''

''In case you didn't notice, I've been a bit socially inept lately. I don't want them to have this... big expectation of meeting 'Sierra' when I'm not her any more...'' She told him honestly, blushing when she saw the perturbed look on his face. ''Sorry. I don't usually talk this much but I did a few shots before you came, to calm my nerves...''

''It's alright.'' Colby shot her a warm-hearted smile. ''I know we've literally only just met but if you ever need anything, you know where I am... and that's not me hitting on you, I have a girlfriend, it just never hurts to have another friend.''

''Thank-you... you're not going to fan-girl over me too, are you.''

''You wish.''

They carried on making idle chit-chat until they reached the bar, Colby giving her shoulder a small squeeze to reassure her before they walked inside. After heading to the bar to get their drinks, the pair wandered around for a few minutes as they searched for everyone. He eventually spotted them over in the corner of the room and he gestured for her to follow him.

They weaved their way through the crowd and she eyed the people around the table as they approached. Trinity 'Naomi' McCray, Celeste 'Kaitlyn' Bonin and April 'AJ Lee' Mendez were sat on one side of the large table while Curtis 'Johnny Curtis' Hussey, Tyler 'Brad Maddox' Kluttz and Ettore 'Big E Langston' Ewen took up the other side.

As soon as the pair came into view, the entire table fell into silence and Alexa shifted nervously before giving them an awkward wave. ''Hey.''

Colby laughed before taking pity on her, stepping forward and making the introductions. The small group shuffled around and he and Alexa slid into the booth. ''Where's everyone else?''

''Jon's at the bar and I think Joe went to the men's room.'' Curtis told him before taking a long swig of his drink.

''So, Lex, do you know many people down here?'' April asked curiously.

''Me and Darren are pretty tight and I'm good friends with Joe.'' Alexa took a sip of her drink. ''I've known Shaul since she was a baby.''

Colby turned to her with a questioning look. ''Were your families close growing up or something?''

She opened her mouth to respond when April let out a little huff beside her. ''She grew up with the Guerrero family after her father passed away. Eddie's brother, Mando helped train her.''

Colby's eyes widened at the smaller woman's rant before glancing sideways at Alexa, who chuckled before nodding. ''She's right... Let me guess, Google?''

Everyone laughed as April sent her a sheepish look, a light blush covering her cheeks. ''Yeah, sorry.''

''Stalker.'' Celeste covered her comment with a cough.

They all laughed and April shot her a glared before turning to Alexa with a smile. ''Can I ask you something?''

''Of course.''

''Do you wear contacts?''

Alexa chuckled, her eyes were naturally a unique violet colour and she had been plagued with that question for years. ''Nope, all natural.'' She finished off her drink before getting to her feet. ''I'm going to head to the bar, does anyone want anything?''

Everybody politely told her what drinks they were having and she grabbed her purse before making her way over to the bar. She walked away with a small grin, seeing April, not so discretely, pick up her cell phone and show the group her Wikipedia page.

She ordered the drinks and the bartender loaded them all on to a tray for her, which she carefully carried back through the crowd. As she neared the table, her eyes caught sight of Jon and beside him sat the hulking form of Joe 'Roman Leakee' Anoa'i. They had first met in 2007 when he had been attending the annual Hall of Fame ceremony when his father had been inducted. She had been good friends with his brother Matt 'Rosey' Anoa'i during his stint in the WWE.

Joe had his back to her so, deciding to have some fun, she crept up behind him and leaned down so she was closer to his ear. ''Malō, susu poki.''

He had just taken a swig of beer which he promptly choked on, causing the entire table to break out laughing. Jon gave him a hard pat on the back as Colby took the tray out of her hands and set it down on the table.

Once Joe's coughing and spluttering had subsided, he stood and pulled her into a quick hug before pulling back and narrowing his eyes at her. ''I'm going to kill Matt, why would he think teaching you Samoan was a good idea?''

She just grinned at him as she slipped into the empty seat next to Jon. ''He only taught me the dirty stuff.''

Trinity turned to her with a questioning look. ''Girl, what did you say to him?''

''I just said hello.'' She shrugged nonchalantly, reaching out to pick up her glass.

''Before she called me a cock-sucker.'' Joe added, making the group chuckle. He took a gulp of his drink before looking over at her. ''I didn't think you were going to come...you look great, by the way.''

''No, she looks fucking hot.'' Jon drawled as his eyes raked over her body, not even trying to hide it. A rosy hue appeared on her cheeks and Joe slapped him upside the head, quickly turning his smirk into a frown. ''What was that for?''

* * *

The next few hours had flown by and Alexa was pleasantly surprised to find herself actually enjoying herself. Tyler, Ettore, Trinity, Celeste and Curtis had all called it a night and left a while ago, leaving the others to entertain themselves at the table. They had bought two bottles of tequila and AJ, Alexa, Jon and Joe were playing Never Have I Ever. Colby was the designated driver for the night so he was just watching on in amusement.

''Okay, never have I ever... pissed my pants in public.'' April started, glancing around.

Nobody moved for a second before Alexa rolled her eyes a chugged back her shot.

''How public we talking?'' Joe asked with a grin.

''House show.'' She mumbled, scowling when they laughed. ''I had Trish in a headlock and she was trying to fight out of it, one of her elbows hit me really hard in the bladder. Luckily, I was wearing pants that night...''

They laughed again and Colby turned to look at Jon expectantly. ''Shouldn't you drink too?''

''What?'' Jon asked, confused.

''Well, I find it extremely hard to believe that you've never pissed yourself in public.'' He teased.

''Well I haven't, so fuck you.''

They all laughed and looked towards Alexa, who was trying to think of something. ''Um, never have I ever been in handcuffs.''

''The metal kind or the furry kind?'' Jon winked at her.

''Either.'' She said, thankful that her cheeks were already red from all the alcohol she had consumed.

He kept his eyes locked on hers as he swallowed his drink and slammed the glass back down. ''Never have I ever done something I regret.'' Jon stated, watching as April and Joe both downed their tequila while Alexa's remained untouched. ''I'm sure you've done things you regret, sweetheart.''

''I don't do regrets.''

''There must be something you wish you could go back and change.'' Joe pointed out.

''There's a ton of stuff I wish I could go back and change... doesn't mean that I regret any of it. Everything happens for a reason. Even if the reason is that you're stupid and you make bad decisions.'' She looked over to find Jon's gaze fixed on her and she quickly looked away. ''Whose next?''

Joe raised his hand and spoke after a few moments. ''Never have I ever cheated on someone.''

Nobody drank and Colby snorted, patting him on the back. ''That means you have to do the shot, big man.''

He did it without complaint, grimacing as the liquid burned a path down his throat. ''Yeah, that kind of backfired on me...''

''Never have I ever had a one night stand.'' April piped up.

Jon snapped his shot back as the others watched with a smirk. ''Really? None of you have just hooked up with someone for the night?'' April and Joe shook their heads before he turned to Alexa. ''Come on, _you_ must have!"

''What's that supposed to mean?'' She asked, an offended expression on her face.

''Well, when you were on the road all the time, you must have... needed to scratch that itch at some point.''

''I had my boyfriend on the road with me, I didn't need to go out to bars looking for random hook ups.'' Alexa told him evenly.

''What about before you got together? Or after you broke up, that is assuming you're not still together.''

April, who had obviously heard some of the gossip, was pulling her finger across her throat from beside her, gesturing for him to shut up. Joe was watching her, expecting her to blow up at any minute while Colby was just looking between the pair in confusion.

''We got together when I was nineteen. Before that I had been in Mexico and Ring of Honor, working my ass off. I was focused on wrestling, not getting laid... And no, we're not together anymore.'' She grabbed the shot glass and gulped it down.

''You realize that he wasn't enough man for you? Decided to find someone who was?'' He pushed teasingly, ignoring the looks he was getting from the others.

Colby shook his head, knowing this wasn't going to end well. ''Jon-''

''It's okay.'' Alexa cut him off with a wave of her hand before facing Jon again. ''Actually, it was the other way around, I obviously wasn't enough woman for him and he cheated on me... I only found out through the dirt sheets nine months later, when the woman he slept with popped out his kid...''

Jon gaped at her, a nonplussed expression on his face as he tried to soak in everything he had just heard. Darren had told him and Colby that she had been through some heavy stuff and that she could use some friends, but he had never imagined how bad it had actually been.

Alexa reached out and grabbed the half empty bottle of tequila before standing. ''I'm just going to head out. Um, thanks for a good night...'' She flashed them a small smile before and left before anybody could stop her

April, Colby and Joe turned to him simultaneously, similar expressions of exasperation on their faces.

''Dude, you're an idiot.'' Colby admonished.

''How was I supposed to know?'' He looked over at April. ''You obviously knew, why didn't you say something?''

Her mouth dropped open and she glared at him angrily. ''I tried stopping you, but you just don't know when to keep your mouth shut.''

''She's left her jacket.'' Joe pointed out, quickly interrupting the bickering.

''I'll go after her and apologize.'' Jon told them, reaching over to pick up the leather jacket as he got to his feet.

''Make sure she gets home okay.'' Colby said, a warning look on his face. ''And be nice, dude.''

He scoffed. ''I'm always nice.''

* * *

Alexa had only made it halfway down the street before realizing she had no idea where she was. As soon as she had stepped out into the fresh air, all the alcohol had seemed to hit her full force, which made her sense of direction even worse.

She flopped herself down on the curb with a sigh and unscrewed the cap from the bottle, taking a long swig before replacing the lid. She wedged the bottle between her thighs while she leaned forward and unbuckled her shoes. A satisfied groan escaped her lips when he feet were freed from their confines, the shoes looked great but weren't very comfortable.

''Man, you've got some ugly toes.''

Alexa turned her head to the side, rolling her eyes when she caught sight of Jon. ''No, I don't.''

''Yeah, you do.'' He insisted, lowering himself to sit down beside her. ''They're practically like fingers.''

''Well, then just focus on the middle one.'' She told him as she wiggled them.

He snorted and passed over her jacket. ''You left this inside.''

''Thanks.'' She shrugged it on before she faced him. ''Sorry about before... I know I came across like a complete bitch an-''

''It's fine.'' Jon interjected. ''I should've dropped it. I need to learn when to keep my mouth shut.''

A small smile appeared on her lips after a few moments. ''Is it weird that I kind of like it?''

''My mouth?'' He questioned, raising an eyebrow.

''Your bluntness.'' She amended, turning away from him as she fiddled with the straps of her shoes. ''All people seem to do around me is walk on egg shells, it's nice to have someone not give a shit and just be real.''

They sat in a comfortable silence for a while, passing the bottle back and forth between them. Jon eventually broke the quiet with his raspy voice. ''I hope you at least got a good hit in.''

She let out a laugh and shook her head. ''I wish I had.''

''Why didn't you? I mean, you don't exactly seem the time to just take things lying down.''

Alexa snorted at his unintentional pun and faced him with a wry smile. ''Actually, I did take it lying down, literally.''

''Okay, I'm lost...'' Jon said as he watched her take a swig. ''I'm missing something aren't I?''

''I broke my neck the day after it all came out...''

He looked at her sympathetically. ''Fuck, that's rough... it makes sense now though, why you're so...''

''Bitter?''

''Damaged.''

''I am nowhere near drunk enough for this conversation...''

''I think you've had enough, sweetheart.'' He swiped the bottle away as she tried to raise it to her lips, laughing at she pouted. ''Come on, let's get you home.''

* * *

A/N - Thanks for the review AshleighxAwsome, glad you're enjoying the story! K, I've removed the old story because I don't plan on going back to it. I'll be using parts of it in this story though, as flashbacks.


	5. Chapter 5

After their little heart-to-heart the night before, Jon had walked her home. The pair had been engrossed in conversation throughout the entire journey. Alexa hated to admit it, but she had been a little sad when they parted ways.

As soon as she was home, she had pulled out her laptop and scoured YouTube for Jon's indie matches. She had sat, enthralled, for hours as she diligently watched everything she could find.

He wasn't a wrestler of beautiful manoeuvres, he was a pure brawler and he fought the same way a dog would fight over a piece of meat. He was just as comfortable delivering a cross face chicken wing as he was swinging a steel chair, the majority of his matches ended with him covered in his own blood, and he seemed to enjoy it. Even if you weren't a fan of hardcore wrestling, you had to appreciate the intensity he brought to the table. He certainly knew how to tell a story and stay in character throughout his matches. He adapted to his opponents in a way that few wrestlers could and he produced entertaining matches relying on perfect timing, crowd manipulation and his vivid facial expressions.

And she watched avidly as he delivered some of the most compelling promos in independent wrestling, perhaps even all of professional wrestling, that she had ever seen.

_''I owe pro wrestling. It's the only reason I'm still alive, and it pisses me off, and it makes me sick, everybody else thinks wrestling owes them something. All the time, me me me. I should be champion. I should be a featured performer. I shouldn't be paired with this guy in a team. I should get more mic time. I should get this, whatever. I love pro wrestling, and I owe pro wrestling. It doesn't owe me anything. Because it's given me the only thing that makes me happy, the only high in this world that makes it worth getting up out of bed every day, and when it hits my bloodstream, and it courses through my veins, and explodes in my heart and the warm feeling coming over my brain, the whole world makes sense. And that's what I owe pro wrestling." _

He was an incredible talent with unlimited potential and a ton of charisma, she could understand why Darren liked him so much. It also made her realize something else, something that she knew could would her a lot of trouble.

She was really attracted to him.

Alexa had thought he was pretty good-looking when she had first set eyes on him upon his arrival to FCW. And last night... there was just something about him in person, though, that made him infinitely more attractive. But after watching all of his killer promos and matches, seeing his passion for wrestling... that had been a big turn on for her.

She had just decided to wave it off as a little crush, knowing it would eventually fizzle out. She didn't need the drama of a relationship right now. She needed to pull her head out of her ass and get back in that ring.

Alexa frowned as she walked into the FCW building and found it relatively quiet. Usually there was a lot of hustle and bustle going on, with people running around everywhere. She dumped her bag in the locker room before heading to the practice ring, where she assumed Darren would be waiting for her to start their session.

As she walked, she heard familiar voices echo down the hallway. With every step, the voices became clearer and she groaned when she realized what it was.

_''She's a lot stronger than she looks! Right, Adam?''_

_''She's got thighs of steel, man.''_

_''Dude, they are Canadian...''_

_''Ah, that explains it.''_

_''Hey! I'm Canadian too, jackass!"_

_''I think you've pissed her off, Randal.'' _

Darren, the sneaky fucker, had found the footage that she was hoping he had forgotten about.

Sighing, she peered around the doorway and saw the familiar scene being played out on the television in the corner. Colby, Joe, Jon, Trinity, Celeste, April, Curtis, Ettore and Shaul stood off to the side as Darren was commenting on the sparring, pointing out to the women how easy it was to take down someone bigger than you.

Alexa slowly walked into the room and came to a stop just behind Colby and Joe, peering in between them to watch the screen.

A few minutes later, the video finally cut and Darren turned to face everyone, a smile breaking out on his face when he spotted her. ''Ah, there she is!"

Joe and Colby jumped back in shock after turning to find her right behind them, making her let out a small chuckle. ''Hey.''

''That was pretty neat, Lex.'' Trinity told her with a grin.

April nodded from beside her. ''Totally. Think you could show me that Muta lock sometime?''

''Sure thing.''

''If you two are going to be all over each other in the ring, we want to watch.'' Curtis told them, a lewd smirk on his face.

''Don't be such a prev, Curt.'' April sent him an admonishing look.

''Yeah, or I'm sure Lex will happily kick your ass too.'' Celeste threatened as she pointed her finger at him.

Alexa stepped back and held her hands up. ''I'm kicking nobody's ass... not yet, anyway.''

''But she totally could kick all of your asses.'' Shaul told the guys smugly.

''Not all of them.'' Alexa shook her head. ''I think Ettore would eat me for breakfast.''

''I'd eat y-''

Colby quickly reached out and slapped his hand over Jon's mouth, knowing exactly what the other man was going to say. ''Dude, no.''

''Do you know what her nickname for you is?'' Shaul asked the big man, a big grin on her face as she tried not to laugh.

Ettore glanced between the two Latinas with a bemused expression. ''What?''

''Don't you fucking dare.'' Alexa warned, fixing the younger woman with a stern look.

''He'll find it funny!"

''Shaul, I swear to Go-''

''Choc Lesnar!" Shaul blurted out, before letting out a loud snort.

Alexa closed her eyes in mortification as everyone started laughing. ''I was drunk at the time...''

Ettore, luckily, also found his new moniker funny and let out a guffaw. ''That's hilarious.''

Jon turned to her, his eyes crinkled in amusement. ''Do _I _have a nickname?''

Shaul was about to respond until a quick glare from Alexa made her snap her mouth closed. Darren moved over to them and clapped his hands together. ''Right. Everybody out except Alexandra, Colby, Joe and Jon.''

Alexa shot the man a look of confusion as everyone started to leave. ''Okay, first of all, stop calling me Alexandra. Second of all, I thought we were going to start with my training.''

Darren just smiled at her. ''We are. I've enlisted some help.''

''Great, now even more people get to see how badly I suck.''

He wrapped an arm around her shoulder, giving her a squeeze. ''Trust me.''

She nodded and they walked towards the ring, finding Jon and Colby sparring inside while Joe was doing something by the corner. Moving closer, she let out a sigh when she saw them arranging several padded crash mats where the rings steps were usually set up.

Alexa's lips curled into a smile when as she watched Colby do a series of beautiful aerial moves, wishing she could get back up there and do the same. "Impressive Lopez." She commended as she leaned forward on the apron. "Me and you would make a pretty cool tag-team."

Colby laughed and looked down at her. ''We could call ourselves the High-flying Hotties.''

''Please. You'd both need to be hot for that to work.'' Jon scoffed, sending her a cheeky wink.

Alexa just shook her head, slowly getting used to his flirtatious nature. She reached up and grabbed the top rope, using it to heave herself up before stepping into the ring. Darren joined them straight after and asked Jon to go and stand on the outside with Joe. The Englishman guided her over to the corner, all the crash mats were laid out all around the base and the two men on the outside were positioned nearby.

''You think they're going to catch me if I fall?'' She asked, jerking her thumb towards them.

''They will if they have to.''

''Yeah, we've got you, sweetheart.'' Jon added.

She rolled her eyes as she looked down at him. ''Please, you couldn't catch a cold.''

Jon looked momentarily offended as Darren smothered a laugh. ''Let's just try, flower.'' He gave her arm a quick squeeze before moving back a few feet to stand beside Colby.

Alexa could practically feel her heart pound against her ribcage as she stepped closer to corner, feeling the panic rising as she reached the ropes. She ducked through them and stepped out on to the apron, taking a deep breath to try to calm herself before she started to climb.

As soon as both feet had left the apron and she stood on the bottom rung, she felt her hands start to shake on the ropes. Trying to persevere, she lifted her right leg up and planted her foot on the second rung. The room started spinning and she froze, feeling her grip on the ropes start to falter.

''I can't... I can't.'' She whimpered as her vision blurred from her oncoming anxiety attack. Closing her eyes, she tried to catch her breath which was coming out in short bursts.

Before she could even attempt to climb down herself, she felt someone wrap their arms firmly around her waist and hoist her down. Not caring who it was, she buried her head in their chest, her body shaking violently. She desperately tried to calm down her breathing and stop the attack as the arms holding her up gently rubbed her back and she could hear quiet words of comfort being spoken.

Alexa tilted her head back, glancing up at the man keeping her upright as her trembling hand reached up to wipe the tears pooling along her lashes. She opened her mouth to speak only to have him shush her quietly.

''Just breathe, okay?'' Jon told her as he gently rubbed her arms, trying to calm her down.

Her breathing eventually slowed down and she mustered a faint smile when Darren appeared in front of her. ''I'm sorry.''

He smiled warmly at her. ''You've got nothing to be sorry for. You manager to climb higher than you have before, you did well.''


	6. Chapter 6

**June 27th 2011 **

It had been a couple of weeks since Alexa's first failed attempt to face her fear with Darren, and she had repeated the same process more times than she could count since. If he was getting impatient with her then he was hiding it well; he had been nothing but supportive and continued to encourage her.

She had grown closer to Colby and Jon, spending most of her time with them when they weren't busy. She had also started to become really good friends with some of the girls; Darren was pleased that she was no longer being so anti-social, telling her it was helping to re-build her confidence.

''Lex, hurry the fuck up!" Shaul's shriek invaded her thoughts.

''Simmer down, I'm coming!" She shouted back.

Alexa had received a text from Phil earlier, telling her that she _had _to watch the show tonight. The questioning reply she had sent had been left unanswered, much to her annoyance. She had hoped to be able to watch it from the comfort of her sofa, but the show was starting in a few minutes and she was still at the FCW building.

She quickly shoved her hair up into a sloppy bun before exiting the locker room and making her way to the small lounge area they had set up. She dropped down into the seat next to the younger woman, lifting her legs and resting them on her lap. Both women's eyes were fixed on the screen as Raw kicked off, watching as Shawn Michaels strutted down to the ring.

Alexa had missed a lot while she had been out. Shortly after her injury, the WWE had introduced the new PG rating. Personally, she wasn't a fan and the only positive she could see was that she wouldn't have to compete in bra and panties matches when she returned.

A lot of people had either left or had been released; Jeff Hardy, Carlito, Batista, Daniel Bryan, Shane Helms, Matt Hardy, Maria Kannelis, Chavo Guerrero, Mickie James and Victoria. Adam had announced his retirement months ago after Wrestlemania, he had been heartbroken.

It was really hard; knowing that when, not if, she returned, that a lot of the people she had known and been friends with were gone.

The women's division had also changed drastically since she had been gone. The historic Women's Championship had been moved into retirement and had been replaced by the Diva's Championship. Alexa absolutely hated the term 'Diva', why didn't they just call them 'Superstars' like they did with the men? It was one thing to distinguish between the genders, it is another to treat them like second-class citizens. The company line was that they were using the dictionary term for diva, referring to a 'highly talented female performer'. But she sill thought it was a load of bull.

''Lex!"

Her head snapped to the side, her eyes looking at Shaul questioningly. ''What?''

''I asked where Jon was.'' She laughed.

''How the hell should I know?'' Alexa's brow furrowed in confusion.

''Please, you two have practically been attached at the hip lately.'' Shaul raised an eyebrow at her friend. ''Although, I bet you'd prefer to be attached by something else.''

''Shaul!" She buried her face in her hands as the other woman cackled beside her. ''And to think, you used to be such a sweet little girl...''

''Don't try and change the subject, I know you like him.''

''Of course I do, he's a great guy.'' Alexa said, rolling her eyes at Shaul's raised eyebrow. ''Just drop it, please.''

''Okay... but only if you admit that you think he's cute.''

''He's not cute... he's hot.'' She admitted with a small grin, before frowning when the other woman glanced over her shoulder and snorted.

''Whose hot?''

Alexa turned around to find Jon standing behind her, arms crossed over his chest and a smirk on his face. ''Uh...'' She turned and her eyes fell on the television screen. ''The Miz...''

''Yeah, she was just saying how he'd totally get it, right Lex?'' Shaul goaded.

Jon didn't look convinced and just sunk down on the seat beside her. ''Really? Dude looks like a frog.''

Alexa cocked her head to the side as she studied the man on the screen. ''He kind of does...''

''What up, bitches!" Colby cried as he suddenly came running into the room, jumped over the couch and landing across the three of them. ''Fuck!"

Unfortunately for him, Alexa had decided to shift her position at the same time he landed, causing her knee to hit a rather sensitive area.

April and Ettore walked into the room just as he rolled off them and onto the floor, cupping himself with his hands. ''I'm not even going to ask.'' She said, shaking her head as she took a seat across from them.

Ettore pumped his hands up and down in the air as he leaned against the wall. ''Choc Lesnar has arrived!"

''I'm never going to live that down, am I?'' Alexa groaned, face-palming.

''I'm thinking of using it as my new ring name.''

Alexa hushed everyone as they laughed, seeing Punk appear on the screen. After interfering in John Cena's match, he grabbed a mic and sat down at the top of the ramp.

''_John Cena, while you lay there, hopefully as uncomfortable as you possibly can be, I want you to listen to me. I want you to digest this, because before I leave in three weeks with your WWE Championship, I have a lot of things I wanna get off my chest.'' _

_There was a mixture of boos and cheers from the crowd before he continued._

_''I don't hate you, John. I don't even dislike you. I like you a hell of a lot more than I like most people in the back. I hate this idea that you're the best... because you're not. I'm the best. I'm the best in the world. There's one thing you're better at than I am... and that's kissing Vince McMahon's ass... You're as good at kissing Vince's ass as Hulk Hogan was. I don't know if you're as good as Dwayne... he's a pretty good ass-kisser... always was and still is. Oops... I'm breaking the fourth wall.''_

Alexa's eyes widened as she watched her friend wave to the camera that had been on him, a sarcastic smile on his face.

_''I am the best... wrestler... in the world. I've been the best ever since Day One when I walked into this company, and I've been vilified and hated since that day because Paul Heyman saw something in me that nobody else wanted to admit. That's right, I'm a Paul Heyman guy. You know who else was a Paul Heyman guy? Brock Lesnar... and he split, just like I'm splittin', but the biggest difference between me and Brock is that I'm going to leave with the WWE Championship.''_

_''I've grabbed so many of Vincent K. McMahon's imaginary brass rings that it's finally dawned on me that they're just that. They're completely imaginary. The only thing that's real is me, and the fact that day in and day out, for almost six years, I've proved to everybody in the world that I am the best on this microphone, in that ring, and even on commentary. Nobody can touch me. And yet, no matter how many times I prove it... I'm not on your lovely little collectors' cups, I'm not on the cover of the program, I'm barely promoted, I don't get to be in movies, I'm certainly not on any crappy show on the USA Network, I'm not on the poster of WrestleMania, I'm not on the signature that's produced at the start of the show.'' _

_''I'm not on Conan O'Brian, I'm not on Jimmy Fallon, but the fact of the matter is I should be, and trust me, this isn't sour grapes, but the fact that "Dwayne" is in the main event of WrestleMania next year and I'm not makes me sick!''_

''Is this a work?'' Jon asked from beside her.

Alexa shook her head, her eyes taking in Phil's angry expression and John's unsure one from his position down in the ring. ''No, I don't think so...''

_''Oh hey, let me get something straight, those of you who are cheering me right now... you are just as big a part of me leaving as anyone else, because you're the ones sipping out of those collector cups right now, you're the ones that buy those programs that my face isn't on the cover of, and then at five in the morning at the airport, you try to shove it in my face so you can get an autograph and sell it on eBay because you're too lazy to get a real job... I'm leaving with the WWE championship on July 17th and hell, who knows, maybe I'll go defend it in New Japan Pro Wrestling... maybe I'll go back to Ring of Honor...''_

_He turned to the camera again, giving another wave._

_''Hey, Colt Cabana, how you doing? The reason I'm leaving is you people because after I'm gone you're still going to pour money into this company - I'm just a spoke on the wheel - the wheel's gonna keep turning. And I understand that... that Vince McMahon's going to make money despite himself... he's a millionaire who should be a billionaire... you know why he's not a billionaire? It's because he surrounds himself with glad-handing nonsensical douche-bag yes-men, like John Lauranitis, who's gonna tell him everything he wants to hear... and I'd like to think that maybe this company will be better after Vince McMahon is dead, but the fact is it's gonna get taken over by his idiotic daughter and his doofus son-in-law and the rest of his stupid family.''_

_''Let me tell you a personal story about Vince McMahon. You know we do this whole ani-bullying campaign...''_

_His mic was suddenly cut off and he stood up angrily, shouting to the camera that he couldn't be silenced._

* * *

''Hey fuckface... what's going on?''

_''You watched?''_

It had been over an hour since Phil had dropped his epic 'pipebomb' and Alexa had only just managed to get in touch with him. She was in the training room, lying in near-darkness in the middle of the ring as she held the phone up to her ear.

''Yeah, dude, I watched.'' She confirmed. ''What's going on?''

_''I don't even fucking know anymore.'' _Phil heaved out a sigh on the other end. _''My contracts up in a couple of weeks and you know I've been unhappy for a while... Tonight, Vince said I could 'air my grievances' but that I had to run them by him first I knew the fucker wouldn't let me say everything I wanted to, so I gave him a sheet of paper with talking points that were different from what I actually said.''_

''Yeah, I guessed that when they cut you off...''

_''Everyone backstage agrees with me, Lex. When __I walked past this gigantic group of people who were all waiting at the bottom of the stairs in Gorilla to see me coming out. I walked out and got to see everyone's legit reaction. It wasn't like, "Oh, he's coming," stone-faced. I walked behind people, and they had their hands on their heads, eyes wide open, looking around like, "Did you hear that?". If I can do that with employees... just think of what I did with the live audience... You haven't been around, you don't know what it's like...''_

''You think you have it so bad... try being a woman in this business, Phil. People see the 'Diva's' matches as nothing more than a bathroom break. The few women left in the company who have actual in-ring ability, are underrated, underutilized and are frequently passed over in favour of the models... the division's a sinking ship.'' She told him angrily. ''You have no fucking idea...''

_''Lex-''_

''You used to be my hero, Phil... the CM Punk... the Phil... that I've known for years wouldn't give a shit that he didn't have the belt... that he wasn't on any programs or collector cups or any of that other meaningless bullshit... All he ever wanted to do, was wrestle in front of those people...'' Alexa swallowed, feeling her voice start to crack as she carried on. ''I'm your friend, I love you and I'll always be here for you... but you've changed, you're not him anymore... you're nothing more than a glory hunter.'' She ended the call before he could respond, letting out a loud sigh as she threw it across the ring.

''That was a bit harsh.'' A husky voice cut through the darkness, before the lights flickered to life.

''Yeah, well, truth hurts.'' She muttered, feeling the ring shake as he climbed in. ''What do you want, anyway?''

Jon dropped down to lay beside her. ''Steve asked me to tell you that Paul's stopping by tomorrow for your meeting.''

Alexa groaned. ''Fantastic... Well, you better make the most of your time with me, I'll probably be gone soon.''

''What are you talking about?''

''My contracts up pretty soon and I doubt they'll want me to re-sign.'' She told him, immediately feeling him shift beside her. Looking over, she found he was sitting up and staring at her. ''What?''

''You don't even seem to care...'' Jon shook his head and let out a humourless laugh. ''I've watched your old matches and listened to interviews that you've done and you can see the _passion _you have for this. Where's that gone, huh? I don't give out compliments lightly - but you're good, really good, better than a lot of the guys!'' He rose to his feet and she watched as he paced around the ring. ''Watching that sparring footage with Darren a couple of weeks ago just proved how talented you are... you're probably technically better than a lot of the guys I've been in the ring with... I know it sucks balls that women's wrestling isn't taken seriously, but how are you planning on changing that perception if you just give up? You were _born _to wrestle...'' He stopped in front of her and held out a hand.

Alexa latched on to it, allowing him to pull her to her feet before speaking softly. ''You said I was damaged.''

''I didn't say it was a bad thing, sweetheart.'' He smiled down at her. ''Damaged people are dangerous... they know they can survive.''

''I doubt I'll survive if I fall and break my neck again.'' She muttered sarcastically before realizing that she had just made a joke out of her injury for the first time since it happened.

He snorted and turned her around to face the corner, keeping both hands on her shoulders as he spoke into her ear. ''Now, you're going to climb your sweet ass up to that top rope and hit me with that corkscrew thing, okay?''

Alexa sighed and moved into the corner, glancing over her shoulder to find he had already laid himself out in the perfect position for her to land the move. She stepped through the ropes, pausing on the other side and peering down at him. ''You do realize that I haven't actually done this move in nearly three years?''

''I trust you.''

Instinctively, her feet started to climb slowly up the rungs as her mind was floored by his declaration. The man barely knew her, yet he was completely trusting her to land a move that could seriously injure them both if it wasn't executed properly. His belief in her was mind-blowing but it seemed gave her the push she needed because, before she knew it, she was stood in a crouched position on the top rope.

Jon watched as she stood stock-still for a few moments, before he tentatively spoke. ''So... you just going to stay there all night?''

Alexa chewed on her bottom lip and looked down at him nervously, her grip tightening on the ropes as she tried to keep herself steady. ''I'm not sure if I can do it.''

''You _can._'' He told her confidently. ''It's like riding a bike... you never forget.''

''I never learned how to ride a bike in the first place, so that's a bit redundant.'' She shot back with a wry smile.

Jon propped himself up on his elbows as he stared up her incredulously. ''You've never ridden a bike?"

''I was more interested in learning how to do a body slam.''

He let out a laugh. ''You're so weird.''

''...sorry.''

''That was a compliment.'' Jon smirked as he flattened his body back down on the mat. ''Come on, I haven't got all night.''

Alexa scowled at him before she closed her eyes, mentally psyching herself up. In her mind, she _knew _she could do this. She had already conquered the biggest fear, which was being on the top rope... all she had to do now was stand up and jump. Statistically, she knew it was unlikely that she would fall again. In all of her years of wrestling, she had only ever fallen from the top that one time, even when she was first training. It was a freak accident.

A freak accident that would continue to control her life if she didn't do this.

Letting out a breath she hadn't even known she was holding in, she slowly let go of the ropes and extended her legs. Before she knew what was going on, her feet had pushed from the ropes and she was flying through the air. Jon let out a soft grunt as she landed on him and his hand came up to rest on Alexa's back as a relieved laugh spilled from her lips.

They remained like that for a few minutes before Jon chuckled and his raspy voice broke the silence. ''Enjoy being on top, do you, sweetheart?''

She tilted her head to meet his eyes with a playful glare. ''Must you cheapen the moment?''

''...Yeah.''


	7. Chapter 7

**28th June 2011**

Alexa wandered into the building the following day feeling better than she had in a long time. She still had a long way to go until she was ready to move back up to the main roster, knowing she needed to work on her in-ring work to build her confidence up again. Paul wasn't due to come in for their meeting for a few hours so she thought she would try to make a start and get some training done beforehand.

She changed into her black yoga shorts and matching sports bra, pulled on her wrestling boots and made her way to the ring. She frowned on her arrival, hoping to find someone to spar with but instead finding it completely deserted. Shrugging, she slipped into the ring anyway and started to run the ropes to warm herself up.

After her muscles had sufficiently warmed up she came to a halt and eyed the corner, wondering if the previous evening had just been a fluke. She walked over and carefully climbed to the top; it still felt uncomfortable to be up there and she was still extremely conscious of falling, but it was progress. She kicked off the ropes, backflipped and landed expertly on her feet before allowing herself a small smile.

''You got up there!"

Alexa turned to find Colby walking over to the ring with a silly grin on his face. ''Yeah, finally! What are you doing here so early?''

''I was meant to meeting Eric to go over our match for Thursday, but he's not here yet.''

''Well, since you're here... I need a sparring partner?''

An hour later, Alexa had worked off most of her ring rust and the pair were having a pretty competitive match.

As the developmental guys started to arrive at the building ready for the day's work, they had steadily grown an audience. At first they just sat at ringside, chatting while they waited for their turn in the ring. But as they continued, more and more people had wandered over just to watch the pair work.

Colby and Alexa were both breathing heavily, exhausted from their unplanned match. They were working effortlessly, calling everything on the fly and surprising everyone watching with their similar, daring styles.

Currently, he was painfully wrenching her arm in a standing wrist lock. She heard a few claps as she did a front forward roll followed by a headspring kip-up, maneuvering herself out of the hold. He ran towards her, one arm outstretched as he went to plough her over with a clothesline. Alexa bent over backwards into a bridging position, a move reminiscent of Trish Stratus. She rose to her feet and span around to floor him with a discus clothesline.

"I keep forgetting I'm not wrestling one of the guys.'' Colby commented as he stood, swiping his hair out of his eyes. ''You're quick."

''No, you're just slow.'' She shot him a teasing grin as they locked up again.

He swung her towards the ropes and as she ran back towards him he pushed her up into the air, palms pressing into her stomach as he attempted a gorilla press drop. She countered, wrapping her legs around his neck and hitting him with a hurricanrana.

While he was down, Alexa cautiously climbed to the top rope and waited for him to stand. When he did, she performed a moonsault, only for him to catch her over his shoulder. She swung herself around and executed a tornado DDT, prompting more cheers from the small audience.

''DeltaWave.'' He muttered to her as they both lay on the mat, trying to catch their breath.

Alexa moved over to the ropes, stepping through them as Colby shuffled closer to the corner.

Glancing across the room, her eyes landed on Jon who was observing her with an intense look on his face. She gave him a small smile before her eyes flickered over to find Darren stood in the doorway, watching on proudly. Next to him, she was surprised to see Paul looking on in interest.

Feeling slightly under pressure, she slowly climbed to the top and steadied herself before hitting a perfect corkscrew shooting star press. She slammed her hand on the mat three times and declared herself the winner before rolling away from Colby. ''Fuck, I'm so unfit...''

He laughed and gave her a pat on the arm. ''You're not, you're just not used to it.''

She pushed herself up and slowly got to her feet. ''Thanks for letting me kick your ass.''

He smiled, giving her a high-five. ''Happy to help.''

Alexa stepped over him and walked over to the ropes, climbing out of the ring before heading over to Paul and Darren.

The latter beamed at her and gave her a one-armed hug. ''That was brilliant, well done!"

''It's a start.'' She told him with a contented smile.

Paul looked her up and down before meeting her eyes with a smirk. "When the fuck did you get abs?"

* * *

Alexa walked out of her meeting with Paul a couple of hours later, feeling like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders.

She had first met Paul during the whole Evolution storyline in 2004, where she had played a small part trying to make Randy leave the group. They worked together again two years later when she briefly 'joined' D-Generation X in their feud against Rated RKO and Lita. She had learned a lot from him, he was such a great guy and she had a lot of respect for him. Which was good, because he was sort of her boss now.

They had negotiated another contract and she had signed on the spot, much to Paul's relief. Obviously after all the trouble with Phil's contract recently, they were expecting more of a fight from her. But that wasn't her style, she just wanted to wrestle.

''Meeting go well?''

Alexa stepped backwards and popped her head around the doorway where the voice had originated. She found Jon and Colby sitting in front of a television set. ''Really well.'' She beamed at them. ''What are you guys watching?''

The two men shared a nervous glance before Jon looked up at her. ''Nothing, just some old wrestling tapes.''

Her eyes narrowed and she stepped further into the room, moving around the back of their chairs so she could see the screen. ''Why are you watching one of my matches?''

Jon jerked his finger towards the other man with a smirk. ''He's obsessed with you.''

''Dude, I am not!" Colby sent a sharp punch to his friend's arm. ''I was just curious after our sparring match earlier, I didn't remember you being that good before.''

''I'm not sure if I should be flattered or offended?'' She told him, raising her eyebrow slightly.

''Uh...''

Alexa and Jon laughed as the other man stuttered, trying to find the right words to placate her. ''It's alright, I know what you mean. They make us tone down the stuff we do in the ring, I never really got to do a lot of the stuff that I wanted to.''

''Why would they do that?'' Jon asked.

''Probably so we didn't make the men look bad.'' She shrugged, memories flooding through her mind as her eyes returned to the paused image on the screen.

* * *

_''The following contest is scheduled for one fall and is for the WWE Women's Championship!'' Lillian announced as Sierra appeared at the top of the ramp. ''Making her way to the ring first, the challenger, from Toronto, Canada... Sierra!" _

_The crowd went crazy for her and she grinned as she walked down the ramp and slid into the ring. She posed on all four turnbuckles before standing in the middle of the ring, bouncing on the balls of her feet as she waited for Victoria to arrive. _

_''And from San Bernardino, California, she is the WWE Women's Champion... Victoria!"_

_Victoria lunged at her opponent as soon as the bell was rang, shoving her roughly to the mat. She kicked her in the back several times before Sierra reached out and caught her boot. She gave it a hard pull and Victoria went slamming down onto the mat. _

_Both women got to their feet and Sierra turned to find Victoria running towards her, arm outstretched. She quickly ducked and caught Victoria in a neckbreaker before going for the cover._

_Victoria easily kicked out after a one count and rose to her feet, charging towards Sierra for a second time. Sierra dropped down and kicked her leg out as she neared her, dropping her with a sharp leg sweep. _

_Sierra yanked Victoria to her feet and swung her into the corner. She ran towards her and jumped up, planting her feet on the top of the other women's thighs before leaning back and pulling her, sending her flying. _

_''Beautiful monkey flip there, by the challenger!" JR commented._

_She quickly covered the champion but Victoria raised her arm just after the two count. Sierra heaved the woman to her feet and whipped her into the ropes, catching her with a Samoan drop on her return. Giving her a swift kick to make sure she was staying down, she ran at the ropes and hit her with a Lionsault._

_1-2- _

_Victoria kicked out just as the referee was moving his hand down for the three count, creating loud boos that echoed throughout the arena. Sierra huffed in frustration and got to her feet, moving over to the corner of the ring. She crouched down slightly as she waiting for the other women to rise to her feet._

_Victoria stood and slowly turned as Sierra ran towards her, planning to hit her with a spear. The older woman dodged and grabbed the back of Sierra's neck as she passed, using her momentum against her and sending her flying through the ropes._

_Sierra landed on the ground with a thud as Victoria jumped out of the ring behind her. She leaned down and roughly took a hold of her hair, dragging her up to her feet. _

_She took a hold of Sierra's head and bounced it against the announcer's table as the referee started the count out. _

_Victoria paid him no attention as she hit her opponent with a few punches before Sierra managed to block one and gained the upper-hand. She delivered a swift kick to Victoria's stomach, sending the women to her knees. Sierra leaned down pulled her up so her head was between her thighs, setting her up for a powerbomb._

_Just as Sierra went to lift her up, Victoria raised her shoulders and flipped her over her shoulder. The crowd went silent as they watched Sierra sail through the air and crash through the announcer's table. _

_''Oh my god!" JR yelled._

_The crowd started up a 'Holy Shit' chant which echoed through the arena as the referee abandoned his count out and rolled out of the ring. He rushed over and crouched down beside the woman who was writhing in agony over the remains of the table._

_After assessing her, he signalled for the bell, ending the match._

_''Sierra's obviously too injured to continue on with the match.'' JR commented._

_King snorted as he looked down at the carnage. ''I'm not surprised! Let's take another look at that.''_

_A replay of what had just transpired played over the titantron, the crowd unanimously chanting 'oooh' as they watched her crash through the table for a second time. _

_Victoria grabbed her title belt and departed up the ramp with it held high above her head while Sierra was being seen to by the referee and a ringside doctor._

* * *

''We worked our asses off in that match, I broke three ribs... it was awesome.''

''I repeat what I said before, you are one weird chick.'' Jon told her with a fond smile.

She shrugged and grinned down at him. ''You love it.''

Colby looked between them, hiding a smile at the flirtatious looks they were giving each other. He opened his mouth, ready to make a snarky comment but was interrupted as a wild April dashed into the room.

''Hey! I've been looking for you, have you got anything going on tonight?''

Alexa tilted her head to the side as she pretended to think. ''Well, my apartment's a mess so I was planning on cleaning... and by cleaning, I mean drinking booze and spraying everything with Febreze.''

The two men let out loud laughs at her comment as April snorted. ''Well, me and the girls are going to this new karaoke bar, we wondered if you wanted to come?''

''Sounds like fun, do you mind if I invite a friend along?''

''Sure, the more the merrier.''

''Hey! Do _we _get an invite?'' Colby chipped in as he looked at them expectantly.

''I thought you were having a 'guys' night over at Jon's?'' April asked.

''We can always come meet you guys after?'' Colby suggested.

Jon nodded. ''There won't be many of us. Curtis is in Phoenix, filming Smackdown and Darren's there too doing the commentary for NXT.''

''You guys can come, on one condition...''

''What?'' Colby asked, a wary look on his face.

''You all have to sing.'' April stated with a smirk.

''A song that _we _choose.'' Alexa added before they could respond.

The two woman left the room after getting them to agree to their conditions, leaving the men alone once again. Seth turned to his friend, giving him a disappointed look as he shook his head.

''What?''

''Dude, April asked Lex out before you did... you need to get your head out of your ass.''

"And what makes you think I want to ask her out?" Jon demanded, raising a brow.

"It's obvious, man. Every time we see her, you can't take your eyes off of her."

"She's got a nice ass." Jon shrugged, trying to sound nonchalant.

* * *

Alexa had invited Chris to join them at the karaoke bar, knowing that he had a few days off and he loved karaoke. As and as soon as he had arrived, Trinity, April and Celeste had been glued to their seats, hanging off his every word as Alexa watched in amusement.

''Tell us some stories from when you were on the road."

Chris chuckled and set down his drink. ''You'll have to give me a minute to think, there's so many...''

''I've got a pretty good one.'' Alexa piped up from beside him, waiting until everyone was listening before she continued. ''So, I like to drive fast. Like, really fast. This one time, I-''

''The party can start, we're here!" Colby announced dramatically as he appeared in front of them, closely followed by Jon and Joe.

They all greeted each other and Chris introduced himself to the guys, not that he really needed to.

Trinity waved her hand impatiently. ''Sit down and shut up, we're trying to listen.''

They all slipped in to the empty seats around the table and Alexa carried on her tale.

''So, I was driving by myself, I think I was in the middle of Ohio or something, there's nobody around for miles and I'm doing, like, eighty-five to ninety in a sixty mile an hour zone. I get pulled over. So this cop goes through everything and eventually tells me that he can't let me drive, because my licence was invalid. I was like, what the fuck? Turns out, I had this other speeding ticket from months before, that I'd forgotten to take care of. So they ended up towing my car and I was stuck on the side of the road with all of my suitcases, waiting for a cab to come pick me up. A little while later, this car comes zooming past me and my phone starts ringing. It's Jeff Hardy, and he's like, are you on the side of the road? I tell him what happened and he turns around to come and pick me up and we head over to the next town.''

''Girl, maybe you should just _not _speed in future.'' Trinity suggested with a grin.

''But I don't have any "driving the speed limit" music.''

Everyone let out bursts of laughter at forlorn expression on her face.

Chris snorted. ''I never knew about that one.''

''There's more?'' Colby asked, shooting her an amused look.

''Lex and cars are _not _a good combination.'' The Canadian told him seriously. ''I've never known anybody like it... Tell them about the ditch!"

''Oh my God.'' Alexa groaned, holding her face in her hands.

''Go on.'' April encouraged.

''Okay, um, we'd just finished Raw in Sioux Falls and I was driving back to Omaha because that's where we were flying out from the next morning. There had been this huge blizzard and the roads had been closed because they didn't want anyone driving. I was riding with Mickie and as soon as they re-opened the roads, off we went. She was telling me to be really careful, because even though the roads had been cleared, there was still a lot of black ice out there. I'm like, pfft, I grew up in Canada, I'm sure I'll be fine.''

Celeste let out a giggle, obviously seeing where this was headed.

''The next thing I know, I'd hit a patch of black ice. We fish-tailed a little but, luckily, I managed to steer the car straight. I was like, fuck, that was a close one. As soon as I said that, the whole back end spun out and we started doing 360 after 360 after 360... We were in the middle of the highway with cars flying by us from both sides. It was like a fucking snow globe, there was all this snow spinning around us... Mickie was hanging on for dear life and we were both screaming...

We eventually stop spinning and we wound up in this ditch, which was in the median in the middle of the road, packed in by about three feet of snow. We manage to get out of the car and I called the tow company, who said they can't come out until morning because of the roads. So, I get Mickie to get behind the wheel and told her we were going to try and rock it. I pushed the car while she gunned it, thinking we'd be able to get it up the hill.''

Alexa glanced around at the rapt faces of her friends while she took a quick swig of her drink.

''It was fucking freezing. I was in three and a half feet of snow and all I was wearing was my gear from the show; booty shorts and a crop top with my little leather jacket over the top. So, I have the car rocking but all that's happening is the tires are spinning and spitting dirty snow all over me. I was frozen to the bone by this point so I grab my phone and text John Cena, telling him that I'm stuck in a ditch and I don't know what to do. Half hour John shows up, along with Chris, Mike Mizanin and John Hennigan and one of our security guys.''

Chris leaned forward with a chuckle. ''And I'll tell you how crazy John is, he was in his sneakers and shorts, the stuff he wears in the ring, and a t-shirt. While the rest of us, minus Lex, were trying to get bundled and wrapped up with as much as we could find, he was out there in a freaking blizzard, in his shorts.''

Alexa snorted and shook her head. ''He was an idiot... anyway, we managed to push the car out of the ditch and back on to the road. We ended up following each other the rest of the way to the hotel, doing thirty miles per hour down the highway.''

Joe let out a whistle after she had finished. ''You were really lucky.''

''I know... you wait until you guys are on the road, you'll soon have some crazy stories to tell.'' Alexa said as she scanned the table, noticing for the first time that none of the late arrivals had drinks. ''I'm heading to the bar, what do you guys want?''

It took her two trips to carry all the drinks back to the table and on her return trip, she looked over to find the table half empty. She plopped down in her seat after handing the drinks out and turned to Jon, who had moved to the seat beside her. ''Where is everyone?''

A slow smirk formed on his lips as he gestured to the stage area. ''April's picking a song for Colby and Chris to sing.''

''You chicken out?''

''I don't sing, sweetheart.'' He declared.

''Why not? It's not like you've got a terrible voice.''

''How do you know?'' Jon raised an eyebrow. ''Has_ someone _been looking me up on the internet?''

Alexa spluttered for words, before pouting. "Bite me."

"Where and how hard?" He quipped, his lips twitching into a smile when a light blush crept over her face.

Luckily, April chose that exact moment to re-appear at the table, saving her from coming up with a response. Instead, she downed the remaining liquid in her glass and let her gaze drift to April.

''Lex, you need to get your phone out to film this, it's going to be awesome!''

Alexa did as she asked, quickly pulling out her iPhone and getting the video recorder ready. ''What-''

''_Oh my God, Becky, look at her butt_!" Colby enunciated the words in a perfect, snobby valley girl voice.

''Holy shit.'' Jon deadpanned.

Alexa help up her phone, zooming in on the two drunken men on the stage as everyone around the table watched in amused disbelief. She miraculously managed to keep the phone still during Chris and Colby's entire performance of Baby Got Back, saving it to her phone to use as future blackmail material.

The pair made their way back to the table to a round of applause for their efforts. Joe raised his hand to high-five his friend, only for Colby to miss completely and smack him in the face.

Alexa snorted and tilted her head towards Jon. ''How many has he had?''

''I'm guessing too many.'' He chuckled before pushing his chair back and standing. ''I'm going to take a piss.''

She crunched up her nose. ''TMI, dude.''

* * *

Ten minutes and some liquid confidence later, Alexa stepped up on to the stage to a massive cheer, mainly coming from their small group in the corner. A couple of them had placed bets with each other over whether she would actually go through with singing their chosen song. The alcohol had served it's purpose and helped lower her inhibitions, and she had never been one to back down from a bet. The opening beat of Rihanna's 'S&M' started to play and she started to sing.

_Na na na_

_Come on_

_Na na na_

_Come on_

_Na na na na na_

_Come on_

* * *

''Ha! She's actually doing it, pay up Tyler!" Celeste shrieked happily, thrusting her hand towards the man.

Tyler grumbled as he pulled some notes out of his wallet and handed them to her as the others laughed.

Joe frowned when he glanced over at Jon, seeing him holding his phone in front of him. ''Dude, are you filming this?''

''Yep.'' He smirked.

* * *

_Feels so good being bad,_

_There's no way I'm turning back._

_Now the pain is my pleasure,_

_Cause nothing could measure._

_Love is great, love is fine,_

_Out the box, out of line._

_The affliction of the feeling,_

_Leaves me wanting more._

_Cause I may be bad,_

_But I'm perfectly good at it._

_Sex in the air,_

_I don't care,_

_I love the smell of it._

_Sticks and stones,_

_May break my bones,_

_But chains and whips,_

_Excite me._

* * *

''She's actually got a really good voice.'' April pointed out.

Chris, meanwhile, had laid his head face down on the table and was muttering to himself. ''I so don't need to see this...''

* * *

_Cause I may be bad,_

_But I'm perfectly good at it._

_Sex in the air,_

_I don't care,_

_I love the smell of it._

_Sticks and stones,_

_May break my bones,_

_But chains and whips,_

_Excite me._

_Na na na na,_

_Come on._

_Come on._

_Come on._

_I like it,_

_Like it._

_Love is great, love is fine,_

_Out the box, out of line._

_The affliction of the feeling,_

_Leaves me wanting more._

_Cause I may be bad,_

_But I'm perfectly good at it._

_Sex in the air,_

_I don't care,_

_I love the smell of it._

_Sticks and stones,_

_May break my bones,_

_But chains and whips,_

_Excite me._

* * *

As she sang, her eyes locked on the familiar pair of dark blue ones. Jon was still seated at the table, reclining back in his chair as he watched her every move. Her eyes narrowed slightly when she noticed that the cheeky fucker was filming her on his phone. Deciding to give him something worth re-watching, she added in some provocative hip action and sang the rest of the song directly to him.

* * *

_Cause I may be bad,_

_But I'm perfectly good at it._

_Sex in the air,_

_I don't care,_

_I love the smell of it._

_Sticks and stones,_

_May break my bones,_

_But chains and whips,_

_Excite me._

_Na na na na,_

_Come on._

_Come on._

_Come on._

_I like it._

_Like it._

_Oh,_

_I love the feeling,_

_You bring to me._

_Oh, you turn me on,_

_It's exactly what,_

_I've been yearning for._

_Give it to me strong,_

_And meet me in my boudoir._

_Make my body say ah, ah, ah,_

_I like it,_

_Like it._

_Cause I may be bad,_

_But I'm perfectly good at it._

_Sex in the air,_

_I don't care,_

_I love the smell of it._

_Sticks and stones,_

_May break my bones,_

_But chains and whips,_

_Excite me._

* * *

A loud cheer went up after Alexa had finished and she laughed, taking a small bow at the edge of the stage before looking over to the table. Jon was clapping slowly as he appraised her, his tongue running over his lower lip.

Trinity, who had been front and centre during her performance, rushed over to her. ''Girl, that was hot! You and Jon were totally undressing each other with your eyes."

"Trin! We were not!" She insisted, a less than innocent look on her face.

The other woman just raised an eyebrow before hooking her arm around hers. ''Let's go dance.''

* * *

Three hours later, Alexa was feeling the happiest that she had in a long time. She had danced her way through the initial mellow, bubbly phase of drinking, and was now quickly heading toward being full on drunk. She had an impromptu dance-off with Celeste and Trinity earlier in the evening. She deservingly won by performing her own unique version of Booker T's Spinaroonie, much to everyone's amusement. She was having a riot.

Alexa slowly made her way over to where the bathrooms were located after the realization that her bladder was close to bursting. Quickly taking care of her business, she was making her way back out when she caught her reflection in one of the mirrors, causing her to stop in her tracks. Her hair was a complete mess, cascading down her back in a sea of tangles. Her eyeliner was smudged and her lipstick had faded, leaving just a slight tint on her lips. Grabbing a paper towel and wetting it slightly under a tap, she used it to get rid of the mess from around her eyes. Running her hands through her hair to get rid of some of the tangles, she hummed to herself as she made her way back to her friends. As soon as she stepped out into the hallway, she ran into what felt like a brick wall. She felt herself stumbling backwards before she felt a pair of strong arms around her waist, keeping her from crashing to the floor.

She blinked a few times, trying to re-focus her gaze, before grinning up at her savior. ''Heeey Jon.''

He bit back a laugh at her inebriated state, gently steadying her. ''Had a little bit to drink this evening?''

''I beat Colby at a drinking game.'' She told him proudly, swaying slightly as she spoke.

''I know, I was there, very impressive.'' He assured as he reached out to steady her again. ''Sweetheart, we better get you out of here and back to your bed."

"That sounds like an excellent plan..." She whispered suggestively, placing her hands on his shoulders to try to balance herself.

Jon gulped, trying to remind himself that it was just the alcohol talking. Before he could say anything in response, she let out a quiet sigh, letting all of her weight fall against him. He laughed softly, cradling her to him and slowly guiding her into the main bar area towards what was left of their group.

April was slumped against Celeste at the table and Chris and Tyler were seated opposite them, having an animated conversation about some TV show he had never heard of. Joe had left a little while ago, having to get up early the following day.

Chris glanced up as they approached and chortled. ''I think it's time she went home.''

Jon nodded in agreement, adjusting his grip on the woman in his arms. His gaze drifted towards April, who was fast asleep and drooling Celeste's shoulder. ''I think it's time we _all_ called it a night.''


	8. Chapter 8

**Sunday 17th July**

The past couple of weeks had flown by; Alexa was slowly getting used to the FCW filming schedule, although she still found it strange filming the shows a month in advance. Her friendships with everyone had grown stronger, especially with Jon. There was just something about him that drew her in like a moth to a flame. She had never felt anything like it before, not even with Randy. But, for the sake of their friendship, she kept pushing her feelings aside in the hope they would disappear.

It was the night of the highly anticipated Money In The Bank Pay-Per-View and the first live WWE event that she had been to in three years. She had received a phone call from Paul three days ago, asking her to fly out to Rosemont, Illinois and attend the event. He had denied it, but she knew his main reason for inviting her was so she could try to talk some sense into Phil. He still hadn't signed his contract and tonight was due to be his last night with the company.

Alexa smiled to herself as she wandered out to the front of house and strolled along the upper tiers of the Allstate Arena. After pacing along several rows of seats and doing a few sets of sprints up the steps, she flopped down in a chair and observed the empty arena with a serene smile. Thousands of fans would soon pile in, wearing their favourite Superstars' t-shirts and wielding homemade signs in their hands.

She had missed this.

Suddenly hearing footsteps echoing behind her, she turned around and a wide grin appeared on her face. ''Jay!"

The Canadian laughed as she jumped out of her seat and leapt towards him, wrapping him in a tight hug. ''Anyone would think you're happy to see me!''

''I am.'' She confirmed as she stepped back from him. ''It's been too long.''

Jason rolled his eyes. ''It's been, like, six months.''

''Like I said, too long.'' She repeated with a smile. ''How did you know I was up here?''

''Paul told me you were coming tonight. And you always used to come up and sit in the stands before every show, I figured tonight wouldn't be any different.''

''You know me so well.'' She said as they settled into some seats. ''Are you missing Adam?''

Jason's face took on a sombre look. ''It's weird without him here but we still talk all the time... we'll always be best friends.''

''Are they still going to do that 'Appreciation Night' for him?''

''Yeah, I think so. Probably when we're in Toronto again, which is sometime in September. Will you be there?''

''With bells on.'' Alexa nodded ardently. ''We've spoke on the phone, but I haven't seen him since just after I had my surgery.''

''How's everything going with your neck?'' Jason questioned.

''Good. All the rehab I've done with Dr. Dokka has really helped, the muscles in my neck are super strong, it almost feels the same as it did before.''

''That's great.'' A wide smile appeared on his face. ''Any idea how long it'll be before you're back?''

''I honestly don't know. I mean, I've only just managed to get over my fear of climbing to the top rope. I've still got a long way to go.''

''Well I, for one, can't wait. I need my prank buddy back again.'' He told her, nudging her shoulder with his.

Alexa grinned to herself, remembering how the four-year prank war had begun.

* * *

_''You want to go swimming?'' Randy asked as he lounged on Alexa's bed in her hotel room._

_''Sure.'' She laughed as Randy jumped off the bed and grabbed her hand, pulling her out of the room. "I didn't bring my bathing suit though. I'll just have to stick my feet in." She said as they got into the elevator._

_"No, you're coming in with me.'' He glanced down at his watch. ''It's still early, I'm sure we'll be the only ones in there. You'll just have to strip down..." _

_They made their way through the reception area, soon finding the pool. "Come on, let's get in there!" He began taking off his shirt and quickly slipped out of his jeans, revealing a pair of dark blue boxer shorts. He unclasped his watch and let it drop onto the pile of clothes at his feet._

_"I can't believe you're going in there like that." She said with a smile, shaking her head at him._

_"Why? I mean, I could go in naked, but I thought that would look bad if someone happened to come in." Randy told her with a wink, before he divided in. He popped out of the water and shot her a mischievous grin. "Come on. Get your ass in here before I have to get out and throw you in, fully clothed!"_

_''I don't know Rand, what if-''_

_He rolled his eyes and cut her off. ''Lex, you paraded about in your bra and panties in front of thousands of people Monday night. There's nobody here but you and me.''_

_Alexa huffed, realizing he was right. Randy smiled triumphantly when he saw he start taking her clothes off. He whistled when she revealed her lacy black bra and panties. She glared at him before walking around to the edge of the deep end of the pool. Turning around, she took a breath before doing a back flip into the water. She looked around for Randy after she surfaced, starting to panic when she couldn't find him. _

_Then, suddenly, Alexa was yanked down under the water. She struggled as she slowly opened my eyes to see a flash of blue go by her. She popped up, gasping for air, and quickly swam over to him. He swam away, laughing as she tried to catch up to him. She managed to and jumped onto his back, dunking his head into the water. After a small water fight, which Alexa won, they decided to go over and relax in the hot tub._

* * *

_"Jay, grab Orton's clothes and I'll get Lex's," Adam whispered to Jason as they slowly crept into the pool area. They had been searching for the pair for a while and the receptionist had sent them in this direction. It hadn't taken them long to come up with this master plan._

_Chris nodded and quietly snuck over to where Randy had dumped his clothing as Jason grabbed Alexa's. They ran back out the door with their arms full, just as Alexa and Randy climbed out of the hot tub._

_"Dude, they're so gonna kill us!" Jason said with a snicker._

_"This is going to go down in the history of pranks for us!" Adam laughed as they shared a high-five._

* * *

_"Randy, where are our clothes?" Alexa asked him as they climbed out of the hot tub._

_"What do you mean? They were on the ground." Randy replied as he looked around for them._

_Her eyes darted around before she put her hands on her hips, tilting her head as she glared at him. "They're not here. What the hell did you do with them!" _

_"What makes you think I did something with them? I haven't left your side the whole time!" _

_"Well, then where the hell did they go!" She shrieked back._

_"Jason and Chris." Randy muttered. She looked at him curiously as he grabbed her hand and started to tug her away. "Come on. The kings of practical jokes stole our clothes."_

_Alexa dug her heels in and pulled him to a halt. ''I'm not walking out there like this.'' _

_''Um...'' Randy trailed off as his icy gaze raked over her body, tongue darting out to wet his lips. _

_She fought off a blush as she watched him blatantly check her out. ''Hey!'' His eyes snapped up to meet hers quickly. ''Eyes up here, buddy!"_

_He just smirked at her before he ran over to one of the benches, picking up a towel that someone had obviously forgotten. He re-joined her and held it out for her. ''Here, wrap this around yourself.''_

_She scrunched up her nose as she looked it over. ''It might be dirty.''_

_He rolled his eyes before lifting the towel to his face and sniffing it. ''It's fine.''_

_Alexa begrudgingly accepted it from him and wrapped it around her body. "How do you even know they have our clothes?" She asked as they headed towards the lobby, dripping a trail of water as they went._

_"They like to play pranks on everyone."_

* * *

_They eventually found the pair mooching around near the elevators in the lobby, matching innocent expressions on their faces. "Umm... I think you two forgot to get dressed," Jason told them seriously._

_"Yeah, clothes are welcomed here." Adam said with a smirk. "Actually, Lex, you can walk around like that any time, but Randal, put some damn clothes on!"_

_"Guys, give us back our clothes!" Randy demanded roughly._

_"Why would we have your clothes?" Adam asked._

_"Because, for some reason, you two have decided that you're the 'kings of pranks.' And this is just something you two would do to us!" He explained, scowling at the two blondes._

_"Guys, seriously, this is cruel. Look at me. I'm in a soaked bra and panties and have some stranger's sweaty towel wrapped around me.'' She told them with a slight shudder. ''Please give me my clothes." _

_Adam and Jason shared a look before the latter jogged over to the corner of the room. He ducked into the alcove underneath the steps before emerging empty-handed a few moments later. He returned to the group, guiltily looking at Randy and Alexa. ''We have a slight problem...''_

_Randy narrowed his eyes at them as Alexa seethed. ''What? Where are they?''_

_''We hid them under the steps over there.'' Jason responded, pointing to the stairs that lead up to the first floor. ''But I think a maid or someone must have moved them.'' _

_''Unbelievable.'' Randy muttered angrily._

_Alexa shot them a calculating look before holding out her hand expectantly. ''One of you give me your shirt.'' _

_''What about me?'' Randy groaned. _

_She rolled her eyes and took the towel off and shoved it in his arms before turning back to the other two. Randy wrapped the towel around his waist and smirked as he watched the men look her over, Jason with a lot more subtlety than Adam. ''Well?'' She sighed impatiently. ''Hurry up, I'm cold.'' _

_Adam huffed before quickly pulling his black v-neck t-shirt over his head. She snatched it from him and slipped it on. Luckily, Adam was a lot taller than her so the shirt reached the middle of her thigh. Happy that she was decently covered, she reached forward and delivered two sharp nipple twisters. Their smirks quickly disappeared, the pair taking on dramatically pained faces as Randy laughed. _

_''This isn't over.'' She warned them before she stalked off up the stairs._

* * *

_Later that night, Alexa snickered to herself as she quietly opened the door to Jason and Adam's hotel room. Making sure nobody was around, she slipped out quickly before closing the door. _

_''What do you think you're doing?''_

_Alexa jumped and spun around, letting out a small relieved sigh when she saw it was only Randy. ''Randy, you dick!"_

_He smirked. ''I know you love me really.''_

_''Are you always so...''_

_''Handome? Sexy? Lovable?'' He suggested with a smirk._

_''Arragont, egotistical and cocky were more what I was looking for.'' She shot back._

_''What can I say? It's a gift.'' _

_"If it's a gift, I'd like to take it back," she informed him, and Randy responded by flipping her off. "Not now, but thanks for the offer." _

_Alexa glanced over his shoulder and spotted Adam and Jason coming around the corner. She grabbed Randy's hand and sprinted down the hall, dragging him along with her. She quickly pushed open her door to her own room, yanked him inside and slammed it shut._

_''What were you doing in their room?'' Randy asked, not really sure he wanted to hear the answer._

_She just smirked at him. ''Payback's a bitch.''_

* * *

_''LEX!" _

_Randy, Chris, Paul and Dave's heads turned simultaneously towards the woman in question, who was sitting opposite them in the men's locker room. She just gave them a shit-eating grin before turning her gaze back to the television set in the corner. _

_''LEX!''_

_The door suddenly burst open and Jason and Adam came stumbling in. Alexa took one look at them and burst into peels of laughter along with her companions. Adam's hair was now a hot pink colour instead of its usual blonde and Jason's teeth were neon green. _

_''Nice, boys. Brings out your eyes.'' Randy told them after composing himself enough to speak._

_They glared at him. ''We both have matches tonight Lex, we can't go out there looking like this!'' Jason cried._

_Alexa stood up and walked over to them. ''Oh, I don't know.'' She cocked her head to the side and fingered a small strand of Adam' hair. ''I think it looks kinda hot.''_

_''Not. Funny.'' Adam growled._

_''Jason, there's some real toothpaste in your bag that will wash that off. Adam, there's some shampoo in yours that will get that right out.'' She told them, snorting when they both ran out of the room as fast as they could. _

_''You are evil.'' Chris told her with a shake of his head._

_She just grinned at him. ''Now they know not to mess with me again.'' She shared a high-five with Randy before plopping back down on the chair._

* * *

''Yeah, I am the prank queen.'' She declared with a proud grin.

''Do you remember when you put itching powder in Chris and Adam's pants?''

''Oh my God, yes!''

* * *

_Alexa let out an annoyed whine when she felt someone nudge her gently, not wanting to open her eyes just yet. Immediately after landing in Montreal following a ten-hour flight from England, everyone had piled into a bus ready to be taken to their hotel. She hadn't been able to sleep on the flight, much to her annoyance, but had fallen asleep immediately after taking her seat._

_"Wake up Lex. We're here." Randy told her softly, nudging her again._

_"Go away." She rolled away with a grumble, only to hit her head on the window. "Motherfucker!" _

_He snorted and stepped back as she slowly shuffled out of her seat, accepting his offered hand with a grateful smile. Looking around the bus, she saw it was empty save for her, Chris, Jason, Adam and Randy. _

_''What time is it?'' She asked as they stepped out of the bus, squinting when the sunlight hit her eyes._

_Adam glanced down at his watch before responding. ''11:30.''_

_''That's good, means we'll have the rest of the day to recover from the jet lag.'' Chris pointed out with a smile._

_She lifted her hand to stifle a yawn. ''I, for one, am planning on going into a sleep coma until we have to be at the arena tomorrow.''_

_After collecting their luggage and thanking the driver, the small group found themselves at the concierge desk, waiting in line to check-in. Leaning back and resting her head on Randy's chest, Alexa casually glanced around the lobby. Upon noticing she was getting several strange looks from people, her brows furrowed in confusion and she turned around. ''Randy, people keep staring at me...''_

_He waved off her concern. ''They probably just recognize you.''_

_''Yeah, I guess.''_

_After checking in and dumping their bags in the room they were sharing, Adam, Jason and Chris made their way back to Randy and Alexa's room to hang out. _

_Heaving her case up onto the bed, she unzipped it and dug around inside until she found what she was looking for. She pulled out her Beatles t-shirt and a pair of pyjama shorts before heading over to the bathroom. ''I'm just going to go get changed and freshen up.'' She closed the door behind her, cutting off their loud chatter, before she fumbled around for the light switch. _

_The room was soon bathed in light and her eyes widened in horror as she caught sight of her reflection in the mirror above the sink. Her loud scream was followed by roaring laughter from outside the door. _

_Someone had managed to draw devil horns on her forehead and a mustache on her face, she knew it was a bad idea to sleep on the bus. That wasn't the worst of it though. On her left cheek, there was a large drawing of the male genitalia._

_Taking a deep breath to control her rage, she marched out of the bathroom and glared at the four men. Seeing her so angry just made them laugh harder and she put her hands on her hips with a huff. _

_Randy held his hands up innocently. ''It wasn't me, I promise.''_

_''But you let them do it!" She hissed before turning to the three blondes. ''Well? Which one of you fuckers did this?''_

_''It was them!" Jason told her, pointing both fingers at the other two men._

_Adam and Chris shot him a glare before pointing accusing fingers at each other, making her roll her eyes in exasperation._

_''Fine. I'll just have to punish both of you, and trust me, it will be worse than this." She warned before storming out of the room._

_She headed down the hallway and came to a stop outside of the room she knew Trish was in, before knocking softly on the door. The door opened a few minutes later and the woman's eyebrows shot up as she let out a loud, hearty laugh. _

_''It's not funny, people actually saw me like this...'' She sighed. ''Do you have something I can use to get this off?" _

_Once Trish had finally pulled herself together and stopped laughing, they moved into her room and she told Alexa to wait in the bathroom. After disappearing inside the room for a few minutes, Trish returned with a bottle of make-up remover and some cotton wool. ''This should work, unless that's permanent marker, then you're screwed.''_

_Alexa quickly began to swipe at her face, smiling in relief when the pen started to come off. ''Oh, thank God!"_

_Trish smiled at her. ''I take it by the grin on your face, you have a plan to get them back?''_

_''Oh, yeah. I'll teach them jackasses not to mess with me.''_

* * *

_The following evening, Alexa found the food service area buzzing with people and smiled, offering friendly greetings to her co-workers and crew members as she made her way through the room. She was just reaching over to grab a bottle of water from the fridge when she felt a pair of hands grab her waist._

_"Hey, good-looking."_

_Turning her head, she smiled warmly at Randy as he leaned down to place a quick kiss on her cheek. "Hey yourself.''_

_She grabbed the water and followed behind Randy as he led her over to the corner of the room. As they reached the table, she grinned over at Trish and gave her a small thumbs-up, signalling that her plan was complete. The blonde shook her head with a chuckle before returning to her pasta. Randy looked between the two suspiciously but wisely kept his mouth shut as he took a seat next to Chris._

_They were soon joined by Travis 'Tyson' Tomko who had come by so they could go over their segment. Randy busied himself with his food, listening as the others went over their lines and discussed what bumps they were going to do. Travis left when they were finished and the rest of the group diverted their attention to the large screen in the room as Raw got under way. _

_Edge and Chris Benoit were up first, defending their Tag Team Championships against La Résistance, the champions making their way down to the ring to raucous cheers. _

_''Jesus Christ.'' Alexa let out a snort as Sylvain Grenier and Robert Conway made their way down to the ring waving two massive flags with the Fleurdelisé on, both wearing matching waistcoats. _

_Everyone was surprised when over half of the Montreal crowd started cheering for the challengers, nobody more so than the announce team._

_''Welcome to bizzaro world!" King cried in amusement._

_The match soon got started and the champions had the advantage for a while, the crowd surprisingly booing most of their offence until Robert managed to turn the tide. The crowd roared as soon as Sylvain tagged in, a 'Let's Go Sylvain!' chant hitting the arena._

_Half-way through match, Randy noticed that Chris kept shifting around in his seat. ''You alright, dude?'' He asked, glancing sideways at the man to find a confused look on his face. _

_''Yeah.'' Chris bit out._

_Alexa bit her lip to hold in her laughter and didn't need to look at Trish to know that she was doing the same. They watched as Chris grew more and more uncomfortable before he practically ran towards the bathroom. _

_Randy rose an eyebrow. ''Why do I have the feeling you have something to do with that?''_

_She just smirked and turned her attention to the monitor as a huge cheer sounded, finding that La Résistance had won. The camera panned down to Edge, who was laid out in the middle of the ring._

_Randy leaned forward, trying to get a closer look at the screen. ''Is he...''_

_''Oh my God!" Trish let out an unladylike snort and quickly covered her mouth._

_Alexa snickered as she watched. One of Adam's arms was holding his 'injured' head while the other was not-so-discretely scratching his ass._

_''What did you two do?''_

_Trish shook her head. ''Oh, no, I can't take the credit... This was all Lex.''_

_''Itching powder.'' She told him with a mischievous smile._

* * *

''That was hilarious. I think Adam had that rash all over his ass for a week!" Jason told her, snorting out a laugh.

''We did have some good times.''

''We did.'' He agreed, smiling fondly.

''So... are you going to win tonight?'' Alexa asked curiously, knowing that he was facing Randy that night for the World Heavyweight Championship.

''Now that would be telling.'' Jason replied, a shit-eating grin on his face.

''That's totally a yes.''

He just laughed. ''Make sure you watch the ending though, I'm sure you'll like what I get to do.''

* * *

After spending a little more time together, Jason led her backstage to the men's locker room, where he knew there would be a few people happy to see her. He pounded on the door loudly. ''Cover up what you don't want seen boys!" He warned before swinging the door open and dragging her in with him.

Alexa's eyes scanned the room, taking in the familiar faces; Mike Mizanin, Alberto 'Del Rio' Rodríguez, Oscar 'Rey Mysterio' Gutierrez, Bryan 'Daniel Bryan' Danielson and Luis Ignacio Urvie Alvirde AKA Sin Cara.

She grinned when her eyes landed on Luis, her first ever professional wrestling match had been against him. She had been down in Mexico for about a month and the CMLL had finally given her a chance and put her in a match against Luis, who had wrestled under 'Místico' at the time. He was the only one who would agree to work with her, although she had been made to wear a mask to disguise that she was a woman from the audience. After that match, a lot more people had been willing to have a match with her.

Alexa had also met Oscar and Alberto while she had been in Mexico. Oscar had started working the indies down there shortly after WCW closed down, before he had been signed by the WWE. Alberto had just started out and was working with AAA when she had met him. His father was a well-known wrestler in Mexico and she had stayed with them for a short time when she had first arrived in the country. Daniel, she had met after heading to Ring of Honor where he had been performing under his American Dragon monkier.

When Mike started out, a lot of the guys gave him a really hard time because of his background, and Alexa had discovered him changing in a hallway before a show because they wouldn't let him in the locker room. She had offered him the use of the women's locker room, since it was practically empty anyway, and they had been friends ever since.

Pouting when nobody even acknowledged her presence, all too engrossed in whatever they were doing, Alexa put her hands on her hips. ''I've been gone three years and not even a hug from any of you fuckers...''

Jason chuckled from beside her and the small group of men all stopped what they were doing and turned around, smiles breaking out on their faces when they saw her.

''Holy shit.''

''Lex!"

''What the fuck are you doing here?''

''You look amazing.''

Mike was the first to pull her into a tight embrace, quickly followed by the rest.

Alexa smiled warmly as they moved over to her. ''Hey, guys. Been a while, huh?''

The room was soon filled with loud, raucous voices and they spent a long time catching up before she insisted on leaving them so they could prepare for the show. With a promise to find them all at the party after the show, Alexa headed off to search for Phil.

Meandering her way through the arena, Alexa came across a few more of her former colleagues. She told them all she would see them tonight at the after party and they could catch up then, knowing she didn't have a lot of time left before the show and she had to find Phil.

As she turned yet another corner, she found herself hitting something solid. The impact knocked her to the floor and she landed with an audible oof. "Sorry!" She exclaimed, as she picked herself up off the ground.

''Lex?''

The woman looked up as she dusted off her jeans with her hands, her lips forming a nervous smile. ''John... hey.''

He let out a small chuckle. ''I'm getting some serious déjà vu here.''

* * *

_Alexa only managed to walk about four steps before realizing she had left her cell phone behind in her hotel room. She rolled her eyes and turned around to head back to her room when she smacked into something hard before feeling herself falling face-first to the ground._

_The next thing she knew she was sprawled on top of a robust body on the floor. She groaned and pushed against the muscular chest, shifting her upper body so she could see who the unlucky man was. She found a pair of blue eyes looking up at her in amusement. ''I have to say, this is actually the first time a girl has literally thrown herself at me.''_

_Her eyes widened as she immediately recognized her victim. "You're John Cena."_

_"Last time I checked, yeah."_

_"I'm so sorry." She mumbled apologetically._

_''It's alright, to be honest, this has been the highlight of my morning.'' He said as he grinned up at her. _

_Alexa snorted and moved from him, quickly standing and straightening out her t-shirt as he jumped to his feet beside her. She watched him as he looked her over before his eyes landed on her face and the realization dawned on him. "You're Sierra?"_

_''Or Alexa.'' She smirked, reaching out her hand to him. "Nice to meet you."_

_He waved off her hand with a smile. ''I think we're past the hand shaking stage.''_

* * *

''So, um, how are you?''

''I'm good.'' Alexa responded before they fell into an uncomfortable silence.

''Listen, Lex-''

''Look, John-''

Both let out nervous laughs and he ran a hand through his hair. ''Let me go first.'' At her nod, he continued. ''I'm sorry about everything that happened. I was a really shitty friend and I should have told you about Randy. If I had, then maybe you wouldn't have gotten hurt.''

''You _were_ a shitty friend to me.'' She nodded sadly as he lowered his head. ''But it had nothing to do with me getting injured. When it first happened, I was so angry and I needed someone to blame... and that happened to be Randy. I _was_ distracted that night, but it was just a freak accident.''

''But-''

Alexa quickly cut him off. ''Look, it's in the past... we need to move on.''

John nodded solemnly before his lips twitched into a small smile. ''Does that mean I get a hug?''

She rolled her eyes and opened her arms, grinning as he scooped her up in a massive hug.

''For what it's worth, I am so sorry.''

Alexa nodded against his shoulder. ''I know.'' She glanced at his shirt after they released each other, an amused smirk settling on her lips. ''So... what's with the shirt? You look like a Mario brother.''

* * *

Five minutes after being pointed in the right direction by John, Alexa found herself standing nervously outside Phil's dressing room. She hadn't spoken to him since their disastrous phone call two weeks ago and was worried that he would be angry with her. Letting out a heavy sigh, she reached up and knocked loudly on the door.

It swung open seconds later, instant surprise hitting Phil's face as his eyes found her.

'''Sup.''

He cocked an eyebrow, amusement shining in his eyes as she gave him an awkward wave. ''What the fuck are you doing here?''

Alexa barged past him, walking into the room. ''I came to see you.''

''You came all the way from Florida, just to see me?'' Phil asked as he closed the door behind her. ''Why?''

''I haven't seen you in months, I missed you.'' She shrugged, taking a seat on one of the benches and drawing her legs up to her chest. ''And I wanted to apologize for blowing up at you on the phone the other day.''

''It's fine.'' He told her softly, slipping into the seat opposite her. ''I get it...''

''So... have you signed the contract yet?''

''No, and I don't intend to. I'm so sick of it all... it's like the fucking Cena show around here. I like the guy, don't get me wrong, but there are so many other guys in the locker room who don't get opportunities because they're constantly being overlooked in favour of people like John. Nobody can see that they're wasting talent, it's fucking ridiculous. You were right, I do just want to wrestle... but I can't do that here if they keep leaving me off the card. I'll be better off at Ring of Honor, at least I know they'd appreciate me.''

''The _fans _appreciate you.''

He looked over and met her eyes, sighing deeply. ''It's not enough anymore. I can't carry on like this, knowing that nothing's ever going to change...''

''Listen to me, okay, just listen... You're not happy, you're pissed, I get it. Believe me, I understand.'' Alexa said passionately, thinking back to what Jon said to her all those weeks ago. ''I'm not going to beg you to stay, or try to guilt trip you into it. All I'm going to say is this; you want to change things and that's great... but how are you ever going to do that if you're sat at home on your couch?''

After imparting her words of wisdom to Phil, she had left him alone with his thoughts and headed to catering to watch the rest of the show. A couple of people had stopped by the table she was sitting at to say hello, but she had been left alone for the most part.

The match between Christian and Randy Orton had just finished, leaving her sitting with a smirk on her face. Jason had been had been right in saying she would enjoy the ending; he got to spit a giant loogie in Randy's face.

''He signed.''

Alexa turned her head to find Stephanie McMahon strolling towards her, a happy smile on her face. ''Seriously?'' Her eyebrows rose in genuine surprise, she had really thought he was going to leave.

Stephanie nodded and lowered herself into the seat beside her. ''Believe me, I was as shocked as you are. Paul said you were going to talk to him, what did you say?''

''I didn't say anything, not really...''

''Well, whatever you said it must have helped.'' The older woman smiled. ''There were a few conditions, but he said that at the end of the day all he wanted to do was wrestle in front of those fans.''

Alexa smiled knowingly before giving the woman a questioning look. ''So, does that mean he's going to win?''

''You'll just have to watch, won't you.''

* * *

Phil had won.

The pop he had received as he entered the arena was bigger than anything she had ever heard. Being in Phil's home state, the crowd had been 100% behind him from the start. It was an amazing match, probably one of the best Alexa had seen from both men.

After the show, she had made her way back to her hotel, which, coincidentally also happened to be where most of the talent was staying. She changed into something suitable before making her way down to the hotel bar, where the 'party' was taking place.

She had spent the rest of the night catching up with her friends and making a few new ones. She had been formally introduced to The Bella Twins; Brianna and Nicole Garcia-Colace. Despite the preconceptions she had about them, she found herself really enjoying their company. Especially Nikki's, they were so alike and the woman was so blunt it was hilarious.

The night had been going well. Too well.

Alexa had just been to the ladies room and was making her way back into the main bar when a body suddenly blocked her path. Rolling her eyes, she looked up and froze when she found her ex-boyfriend standing there. She could feel her mouth go dry as she tried to form words. ''Excuse me.''

When he didn't move, she let out an annoyed sigh and tried to step around him, only for him to move in front of her.

''I heard you were here, couldn't quite believe it...''

Her eyes narrowed at Randy's slurred words, knowing exactly what he could be like when he was under the influence. ''Well, now you can believe it. Can you move, please?''

''No. Come with me, I want to talk to you.''

Before she could protest, he had grabbed hold of her hand and had pulled her over to a secluded corner of the room. ''Randy, what the fuck? Let go!"

He towered over her and she found herself backed up against the wall as she tried to move away from him. ''I miss you.''

She couldn't help but scoff at the declaration. ''Please, spare me.''

''I mean it...'' He said adamantly. ''Me and Sam, we're not right for each other. Not the way me and you are... My room's upstairs...''

''You're drunk, Randy.'' As she made to push past him, he reached out and tightly grabbed her arms, pulling her back towards him. ''Get the fuck off me!"

Hissing at her to calm down, he shoved her back and she hit the wall with a thud. She struggled against his grip, her heart hammering in her chest when she felt his fingers dig painfully into her arms.

Randy leaned down and whispered into her ear. "I know you still love me."

Funnily enough, it was that precise moment that she finally realized she _didn't_. She opened her mouth to reply but he was violently jerked away from her.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?"

Randy turned to sneer at Phil.

"Nothing that concerns you, now fuck off.''

Phil let out a humourless laugh as he glared at the other man. ''It concerns me when you put your hands on her.''

Randy turned around to face him, an angry look twisting on his face. "Why? Everybody knows you have a thing for her... you jealous that I've fucked her and you haven't?''

Phil took a deep breath, his nostrils flaring angrily before he swung.

Randy was stunned as he went staggering back from the impact of the blow. His hand reached up to touch his jaw briefly before he lunged towards Phil.

It turned into a brawl as both men fell to the floor, scrambling around as they continually punched at each other

''Stop it!" Alexa shrieked, darting forward to desperately grab one of Randy's arms to stop him hurting her friend.

Unfortunately for her, she was standing too close and when Randy pulled back to hit him again he caught Alexa's face with his elbow. She stumbled back from the force of the blow and landed on the floor with a bump.

Randy stopped what he was doing immediately and turned around. A guilty expression came onto his face once he'd realized what he'd done.

''What the fuck is going on here?!" John boomed as he approached.

Phil's hair was dishevelled and the sleeve of his shirt had been ripped and Randy had a bloody lip. John's expression turned from angry to concerned when his gaze landed on Alexa. She was huddled in the corner, her hand clutching at her face as tears streamed down her cheeks.

''Randy. He tried - ''

John's jaw clenched as he glared at the man in question, silently wondering what the hell had happened to his old friend. Shaking his head, he moved over to Alexa and helped her to her feet. ''Let's get out of here.''

Phil had already stood and moved over to them, wrapping a comforting arm around her as they started to head towards the exit. They halted, however, when Alexa noticed John had left her side and was storming back towards Randy.

"John, don't, please."

Her words fell on deaf ears as John grabbed the other man by the shirt and had him slammed up against the wall. ''Now, you listen to me and you listen good. I don't know what the fuck is going on in that head of yours, and I don't fucking care. If you ever so much as _look_ at her wrong again, I will end you... Got it?"

Randy stared at him stubbornly for a few seconds before eventually nodding, seeming to understand that the other man was deadly serious.

John nodded before releasing him and making his way back over to Phil and Alexa. "Are you alright?"

She nodded, gracing him with a small smile. ''Thank you... both of you.''

''Come on, let's go and find you some ice for that eye.''


	9. Chapter 9

**Wednesday 19th July**

''Hey Darren, do you know when Lex is coming back from Chicago?''

The man paused his walk through the gym and turned to face the row of treadmills, where April was just finishing a run. ''I believe she's already back, but she's feeling under the weather so won't be back here for a few days.''

Jon's brows furrowed as he listened to the Englishman's reply before he turned to look down at Colby, who he was spotting for. ''Don't you think that's a little strange?''

''What?'' Colby asked, his face red as he strained.

''That Lex just happens to be sick at the same time Orton gets a hefty fine, and suspended for improper conduct.''

He lifted the weight back up onto the bracket and let out a sigh. ''I think you're reading too much into it, dude.''

Their musings were cut short as Darren wandered over to them, a small smile on his face. ''Good afternoon boys, you all set for your match Thursday?''

They both nodded and Colby grinned. ''It's going to be awesome.''

The older man chuckled before glancing at Jon, noticing the trouble expression on his face. ''What's the matter?''

''I was just wondering what was wrong with Lex?''

Darren's face instantly grew dark and a hint of anger appeared in his eyes, before it was quickly covered up with a forced smile. ''All I know is that she's not feeling well. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some things I have to do.''

Colby and Jon both watched as he quickly walked away before turning to each other with suspicious looks.

''Still think I'm reading too much into it?''

Colby frowned and glanced up. ''Hey, April?''

She made her way over to them, a confused look on her face. ''What's up?''

''You were at Raw last night weren't you?''

''Yeah...''

''Did you happen to hear anything about Orton getting suspended?''

''Yeah, we know how you women like to gossip.'' Jon added with a smirk.

April scowled up at him. ''Not all women like to gossip, Jon.''

''So, you _don't _know anything?'' Colby clarified.

''I didn't say that.'' She gave them a sheepish look. ''I heard some people talking in catering, and apparently Randy and Punk got into a huge fight at the party after the pay-per-view.''

* * *

Alexa had spent the past three days hiding out at her house, fully intending to stay there until her face had healed. She had a hideous purple bruise under her eye and practically the entire left side of her face was swollen.

After arriving home on Monday morning, she had called Darren to tell him she would be taking some time off, explaining everything to him. After calming him down and insisting she was alright, he agreed to keep quiet and just tell people she was sick if they asked.

Immediately after escorting Alexa to her room and making sure she was okay, John and Phil had gone to see Vince to explain to him what had happened. He had been furious and, after a quick call to Alexa to corroborate their story, gave Randy a month-long suspension as well as a hefty fine.

Word had quickly gotten around about the scuffle between the two men, along with the news of Randy's punishment. Unfortunately for Alexa, this meant she had been inundated with messages from people who had been at the party and wanted to know what had happened.

Eventually she had just switched her phone off and hoped people would take the hint.

Wednesday evening found her clad in an old, oversized Hardy Boyz t-shirt and a pair of boy shorts, curled up on her sofa with her duvet while she watched The Little Mermaid. Despite being almost twenty-six, she was a huge fan of Disney movies and they never failed to cheer her up when she was feeling down.

_KNOCK. KNOCK. KNOCK._

Alexa unwrapped herself from the duvet and dragged herself over up, shuffling along the floor in her fluffy socks to answer the door. Her eyes widened when she found Jon and Colby standing there, fully expecting it to be Darren to come and check up on her.

''Uh, hey...'' She chewed on her lip worriedly.

Both of their smiles vanished as soon as their eyes landed on her; a concerned look appearing on Colby's face while Jon's expression turned dark.

"Who did that to you?" Jon asked lowly.

"It was nothing, just an accident.'' She told him softly.

Colby's eyes narrowed as he caught sight of something, and he moved forward to lift the sleeves of her shirt; revealing the bruises on her upper arms. ''Lex, these are finger marks...''

Alexa let out a sigh before spinning on her heel and headed back inside, leaving the door open for them to follow. She padded back into the living room and resumed her earlier position, cocooned in her duvet.

''Comfy?'' Colby asked with a smirk.

''Very.''

''What the fuck are you watching?'' Jon asked as he took up the space beside her, with Colby sitting down in the chair next to them.

''Little Mermaid.'' She shrugged, her eyes not leaving the screen. ''I wish I was a mermaid; no periods and I'd never have to wear pants again...''

Jon shook his head in amusement before fixing her with a serious look. ''Are you going to tell us what happened?'' He leaned over, snatched the remote from her hand and switched the television off.

She groaned and turned, her eyes flicking between the two. "It's not a big deal, can we just drop it?"

''If it's not a big deal, then why won't you just tell us.'' Colby questioned, raising an eyebrow.

''Fine.'' She huffed. ''Phil and Randy got into a fight, I tried to pull Randy off and his elbow caught me in the face... it was just an accident.''

''What about the bruises on your arms?''

"Uh, yeah, that wasn't an accident... Randy cornered me." She admitted, avoiding eye-contact with them. "He was drunk and… um, he didn't want to take 'no' for an answer... that's why they were fighting in the first place."

''Motherfucker...'' Jon's eyes darkened, his face contorting angrily. ''Please tell me Punk kicked his ass?''

''He did.'' She confirmed, smiling at the memory. ''I don't think I've ever seen him so pissed. As soon as Vince found out what happened, Randy got fined and suspended.''

''Punk didn't get in trouble?''

''No. Vince _was_ going to fine him because he was the instigator, but he changed his mind when I threatened to get the police involved.''

Colby shook his head, letting out a small chuckle. ''Only _you _would threaten Vince McMahon.''

''Well it worked, plus, he said he admired my cojones.'' She told them, her lips curling into a grin. ''No offence, but why are you two even here?''

''We were worried.'' Jon stated simply, meeting her eyes with a small smile.

''We did try calling you.'' Colby pointed out.

''Oh, shit!" She exclaimed, quickly untangling herself from the duvet and dashing into the kitchen where she had left her phone. After grabbing it from the worktop, she made her way back into the living room and launched herself onto the sofa. ''I was meant to give Chris a call hours ago, he wanted to know if I could babysit the twins tomorrow.''

''People actually trust you to look after children?'' Colby teased.

Alexa looked up from her phone with a playful scowl. ''Hey, fuck you, I'm great with kids.''

Both men let out scoffs and Jon raised an eyebrow at her. ''Chris told us that you stuck his one year old son to a wall using duct tape, and then sent him a photo of it.''

''And how you taught his daughters to say 'mommy steals credit cards' when they're in a line at the checkout.'' Colby added.

Alexa let out a loud snort at that, remembering the angry phone call she had received from Jessica after a trip to Walmart. ''And yet, they keep asking me to look after them. I must be doing something right...'' She trailed off as she scrolled down through her text messages and typed out a couple of replies.

_**Still looking after the brats tomorrow, biatch? - Chris.**_

_Of course, looking forward to it!_

_**Hey, hope you're all good after the other night. I have a week off if you want to come back to Chi-town for a visit? Colt wants to see you too, he told me to ask if you'll do a podcast with him? - Phil.**_

_I'll have to see if I can fit you in to my busy schedule... Tell Colt I'll do the podcast in exchange for a lapdance ;)_

''I need to get going, Leighla's waiting for me.'' Colby told them as he rose from the chair. ''You coming?''

''Nah, I'll stay and keep Lex company.'' He glanced over at her, a hopeful look on on face. ''If you want me to, that is?''

Alexa felt butterflies begin to surface in her stomach at the thought of being alone with Jon but she just shrugged, trying to act nonchalant. ''Sure.''

Colby smirked and headed towards the door. ''Have fun kids, don't do anything I wouldn't do.''

''Dick.'' Jon muttered.

The front door clicked closed and after a few moments of awkward silence, she turned to face him, forcing out a smile. ''You want a drink?''

* * *

"How the fuck did this happen? I'm drunk."

Jon gazed over at her with a smirk. ''Well, what I _think_ happened was you had a drink, and then you had another one, then another one...''

''This is all your fault.'' Alexa pouted at him. ''You're a bad influence.''

''I think _you're _the bad influence here, sweetheart.''

Unable to think of a reply, she just stuck her tongue out at him before heading into the kitchen to grab them both another beer. ''We should play a game.'' She suggested, flopping back down onto the sofa, swinging her legs up to rest on Jon's lap.

He eyed her bare legs appreciatively before cocking an eyebrow at her. ''Oh, yeah? What kind of game?''

''Not that kind of game, perv.'' She rolled her eyes. ''Like, twenty questions or something, so we can get to know each other better.''

''Fine... but I want to go first.''

''Most guys do.'' She quipped, earning a smirk from her companion.

''Okay, what did you think of me when you first saw me?''

Alexa took a long swig of her beer before replying impassively. ''I thought you were pretty cute.''

A smug grin appeared on his face as he thought of another question. ''Any secret talents?''

''Not really.'' She pondered. ''But I can fit thirty-two marshmallows in my mouth, if that counts.''

''That _is _pretty impressive.'' He conceded with a laugh, before his face turned serious. ''Uh... you and Punk...''

''Me and Punk, what?''

''Are you guys a thing?'' Jon asked, avoiding her gaze as he raised the bottle to his lips.

An incredulous splutter burst from her lips. ''Fuck no! Ewww, he's like a brother.''

He visibly relaxed, taking another gulp of his drink. ''Okay, if you could get a tattoo, what would you get and where?''

''What makes you think I don't already have any?''

''You just don't seem the type.'' He shrugs.

Alexa raised an eyebrow and planted her bottle down on the table before turning around. She reached back and swept her hair up, revealing the small Egyptian ankh that was inked at the base of her neck, below the scar from her neck surgery. She had to suppress the shiver than ran down her spine as he reached up and brushed a finger over it.

''Cute... I thought your scar would be bigger.'' Jon told her softly, his finger still lingering on her neck.

She let out a breathy laugh. ''Yeah, it is pretty disappointing, all things considered...''

''Still badass though, shows how tough you are... you got any more?''

''Scars?''

''Yeah.''

''Maybe... I'll show you mine if you show me yours.'' Alexa offered, wagging her eyebrows as she turned to face him.

Jon laughed, shifting his position on the sofa before pulling his shirt off, revealing his back to her. There were several scars scattered all over, but there was a particularly nasty looking one running down from the top of his back to just under his shoulder-blade.

''The big one I got in a 'Barbwire Death Match' in Germany, back around 2009.'' He told her, feeling her finger run down the length of it. ''We ended up so tangled in the barbed wire that it was in my hair, in my face and my arm was wrapped up in it - it took two or three guys with wire-cutters about ten minutes to get me out. I like the scar, though. It looks cool.''

''Must have hurt like a bitch.''

''It caused some nerve damage so I didn't actually feel that much.'' He said as he slipped his shirt back on. He showed her some of his other scars from his CZW days, explaining how each one came about before he told her it was her turn.

Alexa languidly stretched her right leg out across his lap, reaching down to yank off her sock. Jon leaned down to get a closer look at the light scar that twisted its way around her ankle and all the way up to her knee.

''When the fuck did you do a barbed wire match?'' He asked, a shocked look on his face.

''2006. ECW, One Night Stand. I was in a match with Terry Funk and Tommy Dreamer against Foley, Edge and Lita.''

''You got a copy of it?''

''You want to watch it now?'' She shot him a puzzled look after he nodded. ''Why?''

''Why not?''

After spending a few minutes trying to find the DVD while Jon got them more drinks from the kitchen, she slid the disc into the machine and pressed play before they took up their previous positions on the sofa.

''Do I look like a foot rest, woman?'' He asked, glancing down at her legs which were slung across his lap.

''Yes.''

He rolled his eyes as she aimed the remote at the screen, skipping through a good portion of the pay-per-view before stopping and pressing play. ''How did this match even come about? You weren't in ECW were you?''

''No, but that would've been totally awesome. I loved ECW.'' She gushed as they watched the promo the preceded the match. ''Belulah, Tommy's wife was supposed to be the third person for their team but she couldn't do it for some reason. So, since I was feuding with Lita at the time they had me do it instead.''

''And Vince was okay with you doing all the hardcore stuff?''

''He didn't exactly know what we planned on doing. We were all pissed off because we'd heard Vince had been saying that the match was going to be the shits, so we were determined to prove him wrong. I, somehow, managed to convince the guys to let me get involved with the cool stuff.''

* * *

_''All right, all right, I did sell out... I sold out Madison Square Garden! All right, I know I said a lot of bad stuff about ECW and... I'm sorry. Because, there was a time when I loved ECW, when I respected ECW... back in the days when it was run by a visionary! Back in the days when it was owned by a true creative genius! Let's hear it, for Stephanie McMahon. Long live the Alliance! But, enough about me, I know who you guys paid to see... he is the co-holder of the Hardcore title, escorted to the ring by Lita, say hello to Edge!"_

_The pair made the short journey down to the ring, and after climbing inside, Edge grabbed the microphone from Mick. _

_''Listen, listen, listen... you don't want to mess with these idiots! You don't want to mess with the ECW fans because this is their night... this is like their Christmas... only their Santa Claus is Jewish, fat, bald... and he gives out an endless supply of bullshit! You know what, all of you idiots are going to go home and you're going to text your imaginary girlfriends about how good the show was. Then, after that, you're going to hop on the internet... and you're going to pleasure yourselves looking at pictures of my actual girlfriend! You're all pathetic!"_

_After sharing a rather graphic kiss, Lita took the microphone as the crowd started to chant; YOU'RE A CRACK WHORE._

_''Speaking of pathetic, beside all of you people, let's talk about Terry Funk... and Tommy Dreamer; the innovator of silence! No, you know what, those two guys actually think they have a chance at beating you two! I mean, think about it, even I beat Tommy Dreamer. And when I sat on Tommy's face, I can guarantee that was more action in one night than all of you had in the entire year!''_

_This earned her another impassioned chant from the ECW audience; SHUT THE FUCK UP! _

_Terry Funk and Tommy Dreamer made their way down to the ring, accompanied by Belulah. After climbing inside, the three stood opposite their opponents and Belulah grabbed a microphone._

_''Lita, Lita, Lita... I never thought I'd see the day, that the trash that comes out of your mouth is more disgusting than what you usually put in it! We all know how much you like threesomes, so why don't we make it official? Let's make it three on three!'' _

_The crowd cheered in approval as Lita stepped towards the older woman challengingly._

_''Oh no, no, not me... see, I happen to know someone who's eager to get their hands on you.. So, as an honorary member of ECW for tonight... Sierra!"_

_The crowd let out an ear-splitting cheer as 'Headstrong' by Trapt blasted from the speakers Sierra sauntered down the ramp._

* * *

''God, I look so young!" Alexa sighed wistfully as she watched her younger-self on the screen.

'Sierra' was dressed in a pair of cut-off denim shorts which complimented her gentle curves and long legs. She had teamed that with a form-fitting ECW tee and a pair of high-top Converse. Her dark hair hung in loose waves just below her shoulder blades and her make-up was simple; light red lipstick and some mascara to emphasize her eyes.

''Honestly, you still look pretty much the same... except I think you're probably in better shape now.''

''Are you saying I was fat before?'' She teased.

''No!" He quickly assured, eyes glued to the screen.

They continued to watch the match in relative silence, one of them occasionally breaking it with an odd comment or observation.

Alexa, however, was finding it extremely hard to concentrate on the television. One of Jon's hands had come up to rest on her leg; making her stomach pleasantly flip-flop as he traced delicate patterns on her skin.

* * *

_Edge yanked Tommy out of the ring and the two men traded blows until the Canadian gained the upper hand. He hoisted Tommy up before unceremoniously dropping him groin-first on top the barricade. He grinned at his handiwork before sliding into the ring and rushing to the aid of his partner._

_Sierra climbed into the ring just as Edge yanked Terry away from his ferocious attacks on Mick, ready to intervene and help her partner. She came to an abrupt halt as she watched Terry deal with the blonde by himself, sending the man down to the canvas after a fist to the face. She watched on as Terry aimed a kick to the younger man's ribs, unaware that behind them, Mick was untangling himself from the wire. The pair turned around and she quickly shoved Terry out of the way, noticing Mick about to throw the slab of barbed wire towards them._

_This left her no time to get herself out of it's trajectory._

_She went tumbling backwards as it hit her, slamming down on the mat with a thud as the metal-covered panel landed on top of her._

_THIS IS AWESOME! THIS IS AWESOME! THIS IS AWESOME!_

_Mick called out something to Lita and the woman hopped off the apron, ducking down to grab something from under the ring. She passed a coiled section of wire up to Mick and he started to wrap it around his hand as Edge climbed back into the ring. Moving over to where Sierra lay under the wooden slab, he grabbed the edge and pulled; eliciting pained wails from the woman as the wire was dragged through her skin. _

_Terry appeared and Edge released his grip, turning his attention to the older man. The board fell to the mat beside Sierra, who was desperately trying to free her leg which was still caught up in the wire. While the referee crouched down to help her, Mick and Edge launched a violent attack on Terry; the barbed wire around Mick's hand turning his face into a crimson mask. Several medics rushed out and carted Terry away as he screamed in pain._

_Sierra had shuffled over to the corner and slumped against it; her ankle was a bloody mess, she had a few gashes over her body and there was a deep cut just above her ear that was bleeding freely. _

_The two men were about to focus their attention on her when Tommy slid into the ring, only to be hit with a trashcan lid which Edge had procured. Lita passed Mick a barbed wire covered bat, which he then slammed down onto Tommy's back. Sierra watched on helplessly as Mick placed the bat on her partner's groin and Lita entered the ring. The two men each held a leg as the redhead jumped up and dropped her legs on top of the bat._

_Sierra used to ropes to pull herself to her feet and hobbled towards Edge, delivering a hard slap to his face. Then, out of nowhere, Mick stepped in front of her wielding Mr Socko and slapped the Mandible Claw on her._

_Tommy charged at them and broke it up, only to be attacked from behind by Edge. Sierra crawled back into the corner as he was dragged into the middle of the ring by Mick and Lita as the blonde moved over into the corner. They held him up and Edge ran towards them, hitting Tommy with a spear. Mick suggested that they cover him for the win, but Edge shook his head and grinned before sauntering over to Sierra._

_The woman looked up at him apprehensively as he approached the corner, a sick smirk adorning his face. He reached down and grabbed her hair, pulling her face into his crotch as he thrust. The crowd booed as he pulled her into the middle of the ring and got her in the position for a pump-handle slam. Lita stood in front of her, taunting, while Edge made suggestive movements behind her._

_There was a huge ovation as Terry made his way back to the ring through the crowd waving a barbed wire bat in the air. Edge dumped Sierra on the mat before turning to face the direction Terry was coming from. Taking advantage of the distraction, Tommy hit both men with low blows which kept them down long enough for Terry to re-enter the ring. Sierra chased Lita away as he unloaded with shots to the abdomen and back of Mick with the bat and then a couple of hard shots to Edge right after. _

_Terry moved over towards Sierra and handed her a lighter. A massive roar echoed through the crowd as she lit the barbed wire bat and a huge flame engulfed it._

_He swung it towards Mick, hitting the man across the stomach as the crowd roared in delight. He hit him again, this time across the back, making his shirt start to set alight. He ducked through the ropes and a final hit with the bat from Terry sent him flying off the apron, and right onto the barbed wire board. _

_ECW! ECW! ECW!_

_The crowd was raucous Edge suddenly moved up behind Terry and shoved him off the apron, the man landing right on top of Mick on the barbed wire. _

_As Edge turned around, he was hit with a powerful DDT from Tommy, who then grabbed the coiled wire and looped it around the blonde's neck, choking him out. Lita ran in and broke up the submission after a few moments; she was rewarded with a vicious clothesline by Sierra._

_The redhead fought back with some hard punches but was pulled off the other woman by Tommy, who then nailed her with the Dreamer Driver, much to the crowds approval. _

_Sierra stood and joined Tommy in the middle of the ring, grinning as she raised her partner's hand. As they posed, Edge moved up behind them and wrapped the wire around Tommy's head before planting him back first onto the canvas. Sierra moved over to check on him but was hit with a powerful spear from Edge._

_With a twisted grin, he grabbed Sierra's legs and spread them before lowering himself on top of her for the pin._

_1-2-3!_

* * *

Jon turned away from the screen, his impressed gaze shifting to the woman beside him. Just when he thought he had her all figured out, she did something to surprise him. He knew she was a great wrestler, but watching her in that match had really blown him away; the girl could take a bump like nobody's business. Not many women would be able, let alone _willing_, to do some of the things she had done.

''What?'' Alexa questioned, starting to fidget nervously under his intense gaze.

''Nothing...'' His cloudy blue eyes flicked up to meet her violet orbs and his lips curved into a soft smile. Even with half of her face bruised and swollen, she was still one of the most beautiful sights he had ever seen.

''Fuck it.'' Jon muttered.

Before she could ask what he meant, he leaned forward and his lips came crashing down on hers. She wrapped her arms around his neck and let out a sigh as his hand weaved into her hair, his fingers massaging her scalp. The sigh invited his tongue into her mouth, and he kissed her feverishly until they had to break apart for air. They sucked in a few frantic breaths before their lips crashed together again, eliciting a moan from the back of her throat. He smirked against her lips, his free hand raising to cup her cheek. Alexa flinched back sharply, letting out a hiss of pain as he made contact with her bruised face.

''Shit, sorry.'' He rasped, pulling back from her.

''Jon-'' Alexa begins, but he cut her off before she could continue.

Jon shook his head, swallowing thickly as he took in her flushed cheeks and kiss-swollen lips. ''You have _no _idea how long I've wanted to do that...''

''Uh...'' Her breath caught in her throat as she tried to think of something to say to him, her mind drawing a blank.

"Don't say anything." He said, pressing his forehead against hers as he closed his eyes. ''I'm sorry if I've fucked everything up...''

Alexa opened her mouth to reassure him but he lightly pressed his lips against hers before suddenly moving away from her. She remained rooted to her seat, watching as he grabbed his jacket from the back of the couch before he hastily left, the door closing with a soft click behind him.


	10. Chapter 10

**Friday 22nd July**

Alexa couldn't keep the grin off her face as the cab drew nearer and nearer to its destination. She had cleared some time off with the office, deciding to take Phil up on his offer of an extended visit and was headed to his place in Chicago. She was hoping the time away would help her get her head around the whole 'Jon' situation.

After spending the previous day looking after the twins, she had attended the FCW tapings in the evening and he had avoided her the entire time, much to her annoyance. She had tried to corner him after the show but he had somehow managed to sneak out before she could find him. Several unanswered phone calls later, she finally gave up.

She wasn't entirely sure what she had been planning to say to him anyway, the kiss had confused the hell out of her. Even though she had tried to deny it, she _knew_ she had feelings for him. That much was obvious. But she really didn't want a relationship right now and, more importantly, she didn't want to lose him as a friend.

The driver announced their arrival and she smiled, practically throwing some money at him before grabbing her bag and making her way over to the intercom. She rang the buzzer, keeping her finger pressed on the button until the familiar voice came through the speaker.

"What?"

"Let me in, you grumpy fucker." Alexa retorted with a laugh.

''Bitch.'' He replied.

After being buzzed in, she made her way up the stairs and was greeted by a beaming Phil standing in the doorway with his arms outstretched. She dropped her bag before stepping into his arms, enthusiastically hugging her old friend.

They broke apart after a few moments and he looked her over. ''Your face is looking better.'' He observed as he picked up her bag and beckoned her inside.

''Wish I could say the same about yours.'' She shot back with a smirk.

''Ha ha.'' He replied drolly.

''Dollface!"

Alexa spun around, finding Scott 'Colt Cabana' Colton bounding through the door that she had left open. He drew her into a bone-crushing hug, lifting her clean off the floor as she squealed. ''Scotty!"

She had known the two Chicagoans for almost ten years, meeting them shortly after arriving back in the US from Mexico in 2002. She was only seventeen and had just signed to Ring of Honor; both men had taken her under their wing and they soon became inseparable.

"Did you lose weight?" He questioned as he set her back down.

She rolled her eyes. ''I've already agreed to do the podcast, there's no need to try to butter me up.''

''I wasn't... Besides, I meant it in more of a 'you look like you need a good square meal' way.''

Her mouth dropped open and she let out a little laugh of disbelief. "I only lost a couple of pounds, you shit.''

''You_ did _get a bit chubby after your injury.'' Phil added, stepping back slightly as the younger woman rounded on him.

''You cheeky fucker!'' She cried indignantly, placing her hands on her hips.

Scott watched on as the pair started bickering, an amused smile on his face. ''Ah, just like old times.''

* * *

_**Bitch, where are you?!**_

Alexa glanced down at Colby's message on the screen of her phone, suddenly feeling bad for not telling anybody where she was going.

_Charming, as always, Lopez... I'm in Chicago._

_**What are you doing there?**_

_Used some vacation time to visit some friends._

_**You suck. **_

''Who are you texting?'' Phil asked, glancing over at her from the end of the sofa.

''My crack dealer.'' She replied without looking up from her phone.

Colt snorted while the other man rolled his eyes. They had spent some time catching up before deciding to grab some pizza and spend the day curled up watching movies.

_So, are you guys at the bar?_

_**You know us so well... **_

_You're all a bunch of alcoholics, it wasn't that hard to figure out._

_**Hey! Not all of us, I'm completely sober tonight.**_

_Designated driver?_

_**Yeah. Jon's totally wasted though, should be fun trying to drag him home. **_

Alexa bit her lip, wanting to ask if Jon had mentioned anything about what happened to Colby, but not wanting it to seem to obvious. He sent her another message before she had the chance.

_**Problem solved, he's just picked up some girl, I guess he's going home with her.**_

Her heart dropped and she let out a sigh, switching the phone off and dropping it down on the coffee table.

''What's wrong?''

Her eyes flickered across to Scott's and she shook her head, forcing out a smile. ''Nothing important.''

''You want a drink?'' Phil asked. ''There's some Red Bull in the fridge, I know it's your favourite.''

Her eyes narrowed. ''Sugar free?''

''Of course.''

Lips curling into a smile, she made her way over to the kitchen and pulled open the fridge door. ''What the fuck...'' She swung the door closed before opening it again a few seconds later. ''Phil!"

The man in question joined her in the kitchen and a loud laugh escaped his lips when he realized what she was staring at. He reached past her, into the fridge, and pulled out the WWE Championship belt, hoisting it over his shoulder.

Alexa grabbed a can from the top shelf. ''I'm not even going to ask.''

"What? It looks nice next to my Pepsi..." He told her, a shit-eating grin on his face as he placed the title back into the fridge. ''Did you not see the photo I tweeted?''

''I haven't got Twitter, moron.''

Punk shook his head as he followed her out into the living area, the pair slipping back into their seats. ''You should get it.''

''Why? So I can see more pictures of your bedazzled fridge?'' She cocked an eyebrow.

Colt snorted and held his phone up. ''He's right, you should. That photo of the three of us has a shit load of comments asking why you're not on Twitter.''

Alexa squinted over, finding the highly unflattering selfie the three of them had taken a few hours before along with a caption; _ ColtCabana: the three amigos back together again! CMPunk & Sierra!_

''Urgh! I can't believe people are actually seeing that, I look like a tramp.''

"Give yourself a bit of credit, you only look a _little _trampy."

''You would know.'' She fired back at Phil before reaching over and picking up her phone. ''You know what, I _will _get a Twitter. It just means I have another way to annoy you.''

''Bring it.''

* * *

_Sierra_

_ RealSierra_

_I don't charge by the hour, I charge by the awesome. Which makes me expensive, but also - and this is critical - awesome._

_Tampa, Florida_

_** RealSierra: Shit, I'm on Twitter you guys!**_

''You're such an idiot.'' Phil scoffed as he read her mini-profile. ''Also, not sure if you should be swearing...''

_ mikethemiz: RealSierra you'll never be as awesome as me... get your own catchphrase!_

_ IAmJericho: Uh oh, RealSierra is on Twitter, this can't be a good thing._

_ ColtCabana: Hey guys, my sister from another mister RealSierra has just joined Twitter, be nice!_

Alexa glanced down at her iPhone, a snort escaping her as she looked over at Scott. ''Sister from another mister?''


	11. Chapter 11

**Saturday 23rd July **

_''Hey guys, welcome back to the podcast. My guest today is... I want to say Lex, but-''_

''But nobody will know who the hell you're talking about.''

_''Right! So, uh, you'll probably all know her better as WWE Diva; Sierra.''_

''Urgh! I hate the that word, 'Diva'... it feels like a sideshow term to me. I don't see myself as that, I see myself as a wrestler.''

_''I totally get it and, no offence meant to anyone, you are a better wrestler than a lot of the men out there.''_

''Thank you.''

_''So back when you started out in the WWE, it was before the whole 'PG era' came into it, how much do you think has changed for the women since then?''_

''It was 2004 when I started out and back then, it wasn't uncommon to have the women and the guys mix it up in the ring. There were a lot of intergender tag matches, the 'Battle of the Sexes' match between Lita, Trish, Jericho and Christian-''

_''And you did a lot of stuff with the guys too?''_

''I did, yeah. I was lucky enough to be involved with the whole 'Evolution' storyline and got to work quite a bit with those guys. I got to take the Pedigree from Triple H and I even had a few chops to the chest from Flair, they hurt like a bitch!''

_''I bet! Especially since... well, you know...''_

''I've got boobs?''

_''Yeah.''_

''Yeah, I was bruised for a while after. I guess I'm pretty lucky that I never got implants put in, they would've exploded or something...''

_''That's a great visual!"_

''I know, right! So, yeah... I did a lot of stuff with Edge and Lita too, that was fun. And Umaga, I had a match against him. If you could even call it a match, it lasted like two minutes...''

_''Didn't you briefly join DX at one point?''_

''Yes! I'd almost forgotten about that! I think that was back in 2006. For Triple H and Shawn to even let me have the smallest part in that... it was amazing.''

_''Did you get nervous at all? Working with big names like Shawn Michaels and Ric Flair?''_

"Honestly? I used to be terrified, it was a lot of pressure for them to have that kind of trust in me. Before each big match, or promo, I used to feel like I was either going to puke or piss myself.''

_''...Classy...''_

''What were we talking about? Oh, yeah... with the PG thing now, it's all changed. I mean, I do like that the women aren't sexualized so much. There's no bra and panties matches or paddle on a pole matches...''

_''Wasn't your début a bra and panties match?''_

''Yes, trust you to remember that! I used to hate them... You men will never understand the torture we women go through for those matches, if you did, you sure as hell wouldn't enjoy watching them.''

_''Torture?''_

''Tape! The amount of tape we have to use to make sure nothing pops out where it's not supposed to is unreal... There were times where I thought, fuck it, I'd rather have a nip slip than put myself through this.''

_''I honestly don't think anyone would have minded!''_

''Probably not... but, yeah... the women also don't really get to mix it up with the guys like we used to... that's the kind of thing that's missing today.''

_''So you enjoyed working matches with men?''_

"I think you get more of an opportunity to showcase what you can really do. Some girls can't base for certain things. Some girls won't catch you on certain dives. Men, you can give it you all and they rarely complain about it, some girls will bitch about breaking a nail. I, personally, love men versus women matches because it's wrestler versus wrestler. It's to see who the best wrestler out of the two is. I don't see why people dislike the concept so much. I mean, I'm not saying that Kelly Kelly should be wrestling Kane or whatever. I just think there's certain women wrestlers who can handle an intergender match and still have it be wrestler versus wrestler, you know?''

_''Do you think, more recently, that there's more of a focus on looks rather than in-ring abilities when it comes to the women's division?''_

''Yes... but I don't think it's necessarily a bad thing, it's just a part of show business and sports entertainment. I was there when they had the first ever Diva Search and, at the time, we were all really dubious about it. Maria Kanellis was part of that and she was with the company for over six years. She wasn't the greatest in the ring but she worked her ass off and people loved her. Candice Michelle; she was completely inexperienced at first but she was really eager to learn. She was the first former Diva Search contestant to win the Championship. Eve Torres; she had no wrestling experience either but after winning the 2007 Diva Search, she worked hard and really improved herself... Michelle McCool's awesome... and Alicia Fox! She got signed to the WWE after being seen in a fashion catalogue by John Laurinaitis! I love her. I honestly think she's one of the most underrated women on the roster, I'd love to work with her when I go back... Hell, Trish even started out as a fitness model and look at everything she accomplished... They all proved that they deserved to be there. On the other hand, if someone wasn't willing to learn and just wanted to get by on their looks, that would piss me off.''

_''All good points. God, I'd forgotten that you'd been around for so long!"_

''I know, me too sometimes! Oh, and Stacy Keibler! I almost forgot about her, sorry Stace! She started out as one of the Nitro Girls, you know, just there to look all pretty. Then she came over to the WWE after they took over WCW. She was such a lovely person and she worked so hard to improve her in-ring abilities; she was always asking all the girls for help. There was this one time where she was supposed to win the Women's Championship but she actually turned it down, because she wanted to give other people who deserved it a chance. I've got a lot of respect for Stacy.''

_''I think, along with Lita, you were one of the few women in the company that people could really relate to. I mean, you're obviously a beautiful girl, but you never emphasized it. You're outfits were never overly revealing and you were never caked in make-up like some of the others were. Was that a conscious decision on your part?''_

''Yeah, totally. I was so young when I first started out too, I was just hell bent on proving to everyone what an athlete I was in the ring. I didn't care about my make-up as much and my outfits weren't as sparkly...I just wanted my match to be amazing. Lita and Trish were always the same. I remember when they were doing their main event match on Raw and I was standing with them while they got ready in the locker room. All the girls were around, putting on spray tan and everything was sparkly and shiny... They both looked at each other and Trish said, 'I think I wore this outfit for the past three days for the house shows.' I mean, you'd think that they'd care and be like, 'Got to wear something special for the main event,' but they didn't. It was just about what they were going to do in the ring. We were a lot alike in that respect, which is probably why so many people enjoyed our matches.''

_''So, there's obviously a lot more pressure on women in this industry to look good. Was there ever any pressure for you to get breast implants? I mean, we know a lot of women in the past have had them done...''_

''Not really, I mean, nobody ever came up to me and told me that I needed a bigger rack. If they had, I think I probably would have punched them in the face!"

_''Sounds about right!"_

''And as for the pressure to look 'perfect' all the time, I made sure to never let myself feel that way. I am who I am, flaws and all. I'm not apologetic for who I am, and I'm not going to be. It's just not me.''

_''Were you ever asked to do Playboy?''_

''A couple of times. Personally, I think there are some things that should be left to the imagination. I'm not saying there's anything wrong with it, but it's not for me. I'd rather be remembered for what I do in the ring than showing off my goodies.''

_''You were good friends with all the women? No backstage dramas or fights?''_

''I mean, obviously there are going to be people that you don't get along with, in all walks of life. But other than one or two people, who I won't name, I was pretty good friends with most of the women there. I think when you're working with a friend in the ring, it makes such a difference. Trish, Lita, Molly Holly, Victoria, Mickie... They all helped me in their own way and I loved working with all of them.''

_''Did you get any resentment from anyone backstage? You got in there and got a top spot really quickly.'' _

''Uh... not really, no. I was very fortunate with that. People could see that I was busting a gut and putting all my effort into my matches. It was almost hard to enjoy, because of all the other people I knew who were working so hard, but weren't acknowledged for it... I pissed off the agents a few times though, mainly by doing moves that they didn't approve beforehand...''

_''Oooh, do tell!"_

''I was feuding with Mickie a lot right before I got injured, and there was a fatal-four-way for the title at Judgment Day in 2008. Me, Mickie, Melina and Beth Phoenix. We were planning the match and going through our spots and stuff and I suggested that we do a DDT on the barricade. Mickie agreed and we kind of decided to hide it from everyone except the four of us. We did check with our agent first, to make sure it was okay. I think it was Fit, and it's no secret that he was always fighting for the girls there. We didn't really practice it, we just stood on the barricade to make sure we could stand safely and get our balance... So we're in the match, Beth and Melina are laid out around the ring while we do the bump on the outside. It looks sick, pops off... The next day, one of the agents came up to us and was like: 'I can't believe you did that! You have no idea! We were all backstage, scared to death!' We were like: 'What? We know how to safely bump. We wouldn't do anything that would put either one of us at risk. We're totally fine! If the men can do it, why can't we do it?' He said: 'It looked too good! You can't go out there throwing punches like that, or taking bumps like that - that looks better than some of the guys! You can't do that!' He was totally laying into us. Chris Jericho, hears all of this going on and comes over. He said: 'Look, if the guys can't follow what the girls are doing, then the guys need to step it up! I thought it was awesome. They did great. And it's not their problem that it looked that great!' It was awesome, to have one of the top guys there willing to stick up for us like that.''

_''That's pretty stupid that they were calling you out on that, and kudos to Chris for speaking up for you guys. Speaking of Mr. Jericho, you guys are pretty good friends, aren't you?''_

''Yeah, we are close... he keeps trying to get rid of me but it's not happening... He was the first person I met and he took me under his wing, showed me the ropes, so to speak.''

_''Kind of like me and Punk did when we first met you?''_

''Yeah! God, I was a total dork back then...''

_''I hate to break it to you, but you still are! When did we first meet, was it 2001? 2002?''_

''2002.''

_''Okay, so, 2002. We're doing a Ring of Honor show at the old ECW arena in Philly. Me and Punk were practicing in the ring and we spot Lex, sat over near the ring, watching us. Punk being Punk, tells me she's hot so we should go over and talk to her. We head over and his opening line is; haven't I seen you someplace before?''_

''So smooth...''

_''And without missing a beat, she says; yeah, that's probably why I don't go there anymore.''_

''It was the start of a beautiful friendship.''

_''It really was... we spent practically the next year and a half together until you got called up to the WWE.''_

''I had some of the best times of my life at Ring of Honor and with you two, you helped me so much.''

_''You wrestled against some of the guys there didn't you?''_

''Yeah, the bookers had seen some off my stuff from Mexico where I exclusively wrestled against the men, because there were no women. They thought it would be good idea, so they put me against a few of the guys that were willing to put me over; Matt Stryker, The American Dragon, Chris Spradlin...''

_''You had a great match against Punk too.''_

''I did... I totally kicked his ass and constantly remind him of that whenever he pisses me off.''

_''And, am I right in thinking it was a match against Mickie that got you scouted by the WWE?''_

''Yeah. She was wrestling as Alexis Laree back then. We had a match in July 2003 and there was a talent scout in the audience, which we didn't know at the time. We must have impressed because we both got signed and went down to OVW together.''

_''You two are pretty tight then?''_

''Yeah, she's awesome.''

_''Tell me about growing up and how you first got into wrestling.''_

''My dad was a wrestler. He was best friends with Eddie Guerrero when he was growing up and they both started out together. I was always at the shows when I was a kid and my love of it came from watching them. I think I was like, ten, when my dad had to retire after injuring his leg and we moved up to Canada, where my mom was from. I tried to convince him that I was set on becoming a wrestler but it took a while for him to take me seriously. Eventually he did and set up a ring in our backyard to start training me.''

_''Was it, like, a full-sized ring?''_

''No, it was only a small one. I think it was 16x16, just a little smaller than the ones at Ring of Honor. It was a complete heap of shit, but it worked... Anyway, he passed away a couple of years later... Me and my mom... I never really bonded with her like I did with my dad, we weren't close at all. After the funeral, she went out and destroyed the ring.''

_''Destroyed it?''_

''I swear it looked like she'd taken a fucking wrecking ball to it... We got into the biggest argument... Long story short, she gave me enough money for a flight, kicked me out, and I headed back down to Texas.''

_''Let me get this straight; your Father dies, she takes away the ring you shared with him then kicks you out?''_

''Pretty much, yeah.''

_''And you were how old?''_

''Twelve.''

_''God, what a bitch... Have you spoke to her since?''_

''Nope... but it's cool... I'm over it.''

_''So what happened when you went to Texas, where did you go?''_

''Well, Eddie was with the WWE by that point and Vickie and the girls had moved to Florida. So, Mando, Eddie's brother, took me in and agreed to carry on with my training. Little known fact, Mando used to work as a trainer at GLOW and was actually the one who trained Ivory.''

_''Small world, huh? When did you go down to Mexico?''_

''Just after I turned fifteen. Mando pulled some strings with some people he knew in Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre, which is one of the most prominent independent promotions in Mexico. There wasn't a big women's division down there at the time, so they just decided to put me in a mask as pass me off as a dude.''

_''What about, you know, boobs?''_

''I was a bit of a late bloomer... when I finally did, I had to strap them up.''

_''Where did you live while you were down there?''_

''Luckily, my dad had made some pretty good friends down there and one of them agreed to take me in. José Luis Rodríguez Arellano, also known as Dos Caras.''

_''That name sounds familiar...''_

''He's Alberto Del Rio's father.''

_''Really? So you grew up with Alberto Del Rio?''_

''Kind of... he was twenty-three at the time, so he was out doing his own thing while I did mine. His mom was amazing, usually she was surrounded by men so she loved having a girl around the house.''

_''It's weird that I never knew that...''_

''I guess you don't know me as well as you thought you did.''

_''Obviously not! So, we've talked about everything except for the elephant in the room... your injury... I know sometimes when people suffer a traumatic injury they black out and don't remember anything. Do you remember what happened that night?''_

''I really wish I didn't and it was all a big blank but yeah, I remember pretty much everything.''

_''So, you were in the ring with Mickie about to do your finisher from the top rope and you fall...''_

''Yeah... I really can't explain why it happened... I think the bottom of my boot got caught on the top turnbuckle, I'm not entirely sure without watching it back.''

_''You haven't watched it since?''_

''Fuck no. Living it once was bad enough, I don't need to watch it too.''

_''What was going through your mind?''_

''As I was falling, all that was going through my mind was that I needed to try and not land on my head. Which, obviously, didn't work out too well for me. I must have blacked out for, like, a second after I hit the steps because I don't really remember hitting them. I just remember laying face down on the mat, looking over to see my wrists completely bent in and not being able to move.''

_''I remember watching at home and I was freaking the fuck out. As soon as you hit the steps the camera cut away to the crowd who were all silent. The announcers weren't saying anything other than that you were being seen to by the doctors. I seriously thought you'd died or something, especially when I couldn't get in touch with Punk.''_

''Yeah, when the crowd went quiet it was super weird... apparently, it was the same backstage. Everybody was watching the monitors wondering what the fuck was going on.''

_''I can imagine. Save for the Owen Hart accident, nothing like that had really happened before... Were you in a lot of pain?''_

''Not as much as you would think. My shoulders hurt and my face and chest felt like they were on fire...''

_''What happened after they got you backstage?''_

''Everyone was crowded around, asking what had happened and if I was alright. I was like, do I fucking look alright to you? I still couldn't feel anything so I just kept my eyes closed and tried to stop myself from getting hysterical.''

_''Who went to the hospital with you?''_

''Chris... he was supposed to have a match right after me but Stephanie changed it and sent him with me instead. I can remember her screaming and swearing about the ambulance not being there yet. So, I finally get to the hospital and they had to completely stabilize me before the doctor told Chris that he needs to call my family because they didn't think I'd make it through the night.''

_''What the fuck, really?!"_

''Yeah, I know. He didn't tell me this at the time, obviously... He called Mando and Vickie, who were the closest to family I have. They flew in right away, Stephanie arranged everything, she was brilliant...''

_''What exactly did you do to your neck? Obviously, you broke it, but it must have been really severe for them to think you could die.''_

''I broke my C1, C2 and then I herniated my C5 and C6. C1 is, like, a ring at the top of your skull... it controls all of your range of motion. They said, normally what happens is that bone will snap inward and it'll sever all the nerves there which controls your breathing, controls the blood pumping to your brain, everything... somehow, by some miracle, mine went in, hit my spinal cord and bounced back out.''

_''And they told you that you wouldn't be able to move again?''_

''Yeah... but three days later, I did. I could move my hands, I didn't have a lot of feeling in them but I could move them. Then, I started to feel my feet and everything started to come back. A physical therapist came in to work with me and she helped me get out of bed, but it was too painful to walk. A few days later, I had resigned myself to the fact that I'd probably never get into the ring again. Then, in walked Lita.''

_''Lita came to see you?''_

''I know, I was surprised too. We were friends but we had sort of lost touch when she retired. She gave me this hug pep talk, basically told me to stop feeling sorry for myself and man the fuck up.''

_''Nice.''_

''It's what I needed. After she'd left, I got up and managed to walk down the hall to the bathroom, all by myself.''

_''How are you feeling now?''_

''Health wise, I'm 100 percent. I'm still doing some rehab on my neck, you know, to try to keep it as strong as possible. After the surgery I spent a lot of time sat at home in my neck brace, not able to do anything so I gained a bit of weight. As soon as I could, I went back to working out and now, physically, I think I'm in the best shape of my life.''

_''When do you think you'll be back?''_

''Honestly, I think it'll be a while until I'm back in the ring full-time. I've only just managed to get over the fear of going up to the top rope again... so, mentally, there's still a lot of things to work on.''

_''You're down in Florida now aren't you? Training at the developmental facility?''_

''Yeah, I'm working at FCW until I'm ready to go back to the main roster.''

_''What's it like down there?'' _

''It's an amazing place. Everyone's been so supportive and welcoming.''

_''Any future stars down there we need to look out for?''_

''There's so many, I'm not going to give any names because I'm bound to forget someone and they'll be pissed at me.''

_''Just a few standouts...''_

''Okay; Johnny Curtis, who I believe you have doing a podcast with you in a couple of weeks?''

_''I do, stay tuned people!''_

''Um, Leo Kruger, Damien Sandow, Big E Langston, Brad Maddox, Bo Rotunda, Husky Harris, Leakee, Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose...''

_''What about women?''_

''AJ Lee, Kaitlyn, Naomi, Raquel Diaz.''

_''Eddie Guerrero's daughter?''_

''One and the same. She's amazing, her old man would be so proud... There's a lot of talented people down there. Honestly, I don't know why some of them haven't been called up to the main roster yet.''

_''I'm sure they will, good things happen to those who wait, as they say... Now, I have one more thing to ask you, and it's extremely important...''_

''Okay...''

_''Who do you like better; me or Punk?''_

''Oooh! You can't ask me that, that's not fair!"

_''Answer it!"_

''Okay, I'm basing my answer purely on who gives the best lap dance... Colt!"

_''Yes! I finally beat Punk at something!''_

''You are way too happy about this...''

_''I know. And on that note, thank you to my lovely guest for today, Sierra! Make sure to follow her on Twtter!"_


	12. Chapter 12

**Monday 25th July**

''I can't believe Phil actually trusts us to stay here while he's gone.''

''Us?''

''...You...''

''Okay, first of all, fuck you. Second of all-'' Alexa stopped mid-rant when a clump of cheese fell from the slice of pizza in her hand, dropping onto the seat of the sofa. Her eyes widened in panic and she quickly picked it up, letting out a relieved sigh when she didn't see a mark on the fabric.

''I rest my case.''

''Shut up.''

The pair were lounging in Phil's living room as they watched Raw; the man in question having flown out to Virgina earlier in the day in order to make a brief appearance at the end of the show.

''When are you heading back to Tampa?''

She shrugged and swallowed the mouthful before responding. ''I'm not sure. Why, sick of me already?''

''Yes.''

''I've changed my mind. Phil's my favourite.''

''You can't change it. I have audio evidence that you picked me.'' He poked his tongue out at her. ''Have you checked your Twitter yet? I put the podcast up yesterday and everyone's saying it's the best one yet.''

She put her empty plate on the coffee table and grabbed her phone, starting to scroll through her timeline.

_ ColtCabana: ART OF WRESTLING Ep 53 w/ RealSierra is up now! We talk about nip slips and broken necks, check it out!_

After reading some of the complimentary comments attached, she grinned over at Scott. ''I'm actually surprised. I really thought people would've forgotten about me, I've been off the grid for so long.''

''You were one of the most popular faces in the company, of course they wouldn't forget you. God, I can just imagine the huge fucking pop you're going to get when you return.''

''You think?''

''Either that or it'll go deathly silent.'' He teased.

''That would totally suck balls...''

They both turned their attention to the television as John Cena's theme sounded, signalling the end of the match. The new WWE Champion celebrated in the ring with his title, raising Rey Mysterio's arm in respect. His music suddenly cut out and 'Cult of Personality' by Living Colour started to play, much to everyone's confusion. After a few moments, the crowd let out a huge cheer when CM Punk appeared at the top of the ramp wearing his WWE championship belt.

John watched on with a bemused smile as the other man walked down the ramp and climbed into the ring, coming to a halt right in front of him. The Boston native said a few words before raising his newly won title in the air, getting a rather lackluster response from the crowd. CM Punk laughed as he unclasped the matching belt from around his waist, before he raised it in the air opposite. The crowd let out an ear-eplitting cheer of approval, making John slowly lower his arm in defeat. Raw cut off the air just as he was making his way to exit the ring.

''Sucks to be Cena.'' Scott laughed as he started to flick through the television stations.

''I don't think I could handle getting booed like that every night.''

''He's been put on a pedestal by creative for so long, it's not his fault. I guess the fans are just sick of him being shoved down their throats week in week out."

''Still, it can't be easy. They need to turn him heel again, I loved it when he had the whole 'Thuganomics' gimmick.''

''I doubt they'll go back to that though, not now it's all PG.''

Alexa's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. ''Why?''

He cocked an eyebrow, eyes shining in amusement. ''Are you being serious right now? All that time you spent valeting him back in the day, and you don't know what Thuganomics is?''

"What exactly does a 'Doctor of Thuganomics' do?"

"You must know what thugging is?" Scott asked, then seeing the genuine confusion on her face began to explain. "You can use a different four letter word in place of the word 'thug.'"

"...Fuck? Fucking? He's a Doctor of... Oh."

Scott snorted, his laughter filling the room. ''Oh my God, that is the single most hilarious thing you've ever said.''

''Shut up.'' She muttered, cheeks flooding with embarrassment.

His response was cut of by the shrill ringing of the cell phone in her lap, the woman letting out a groan when she saw who was calling.

''Who is it?''

She chewed her lip. ''Jon.''

''You going to answer it?''

''Nope.''

Scott rolled his eyes. ''Ignoring him isn't going to help anything.''

She had told him all about the situation she found herself in with Jon, hoping he would be able to give her some advice. All he had said is that he thought she should talk to him, before things got awkward and their friendship was ruined completely.

''I know, I know. I'll talk to him when I get back.''

''Maybe you _should_ just sleep with him.''

Alexa almost choked on the sip of Red Bull she took right as Scott opened his mouth. She cleared her throat after harshly swallowing, shooting him an incredulous look. ''What the hell, Scotty?''

''It's been, what, three years since you and Orton split up?'' At her nod, he continued. ''You haven't dated, or even, you know, had your lady parts handled since then, right?"

She hit him with a look of derision. ''After everything that happened with Randy, do you seriously think I want to put myself out there, open my heart up just to get fucked over again? No.''

"Well, I didn't say you had to open your heart... just your legs.''

''You are ridiculous... just wait until I tell Phil how you're trying to pimp me out.''

* * *

**Friday 29th July**

''Lex...'' Phil chuckled as she snuggled deeper into the duvet. ''Lex.'' After she didn't answer, he placed his face right beside her ear. ''C'mon, you have to get up.''

Alexa absently swatted at his head. ''Go away...''

He rolled his eyes and took a deep breath before screaming in her ear. ''WHOOOOO!''

She jumped in surprise and dropped right off the edge of the bed. "What…" She looked up at Phil, who was laughing his ass off at the dazed look on her face. "…the fuck is going on?"

"Good morning." He grinned down ar her.

"Where am I?" It dawned on her that she was on the floor, which confused her more. "…why am I on the ground?" She stood up slowly, still looking a little out of it. "I had this totally whacked out dream that Ric Flair was screaming in my ear... so not cool."

He laughed. ''Yeah, my bad.''

She flopped back down on the bed and closed her eyes. ''I wish there was a job where you could just stay in bed all day, that would be_ perfect _for me.''

''Yeah, it's called a brothel.''

Alexa opened her eyes to glare at him. ''Funny.''

''I thought so. Come on, you need to get your shit together, your flights in two hours.''

Alexa walked through the terminal at Tampa International Airport, making her way over to the baggage claim. After almost twenty minutes of watching people scurry back and forth looking for their luggage, she spotted hers and quickly grabbed it before moving over to the waiting area and taking a seat. Pulling her phone out of her pocket, she scrolled through her contacts before her finger landed on Colby's name.

_''Yo.''_

''Hey... uh, are you busy?''

_''Not really, just chilling. Why, what's up?''_

''My flight's just landed and I'm stuck at the airport, I left my purse in Chicago so I haven't got any money for a cab.''

_''And you need a ride?''_

''Yeah...''

_''No problem, I'll be there as soon as I can.''_

''You're a lifesaver, thank you!"

They ended the call and she hoisted up her bag, deciding to make her way over to the small restaurant to grab something to eat. She sat people-watching while she munched on her fries before passing some time on Twitter.

_ RealSierra: __Hey, skinny guy having a Greek yogurt and Vitamin Water for lunch; I'd come punch you in the face but I don't want my fries to get cold._

_ IAmJericho: RealSierra you're always eating, how are you not 300 pounds?!_

_ RealSierra: IAmJericho Good genes?_

A phone call from Colby letting her know he was outside put a stop to her Twitter frenzy; she actually hated Phil for goading her into getting the app, she was slowly becoming obsessed. She went and picked up a cup of coffee for Colby before heading out to the front of the building where the pick-up point was. Spotting him leaning against car, she made her way over and greeted him with a smile, holding out the cup of coffee.

"You're amazing.'' He told her gratefully, taking a large gulp. ''Thank you."

She smirked, a laugh escaping her lips. "Yeah, I know."

"And modest, too." He opened the trunk for her and she shoved her bag in before hopping into the passenger seat. ''So, how was your time away?''

''It was great.'' Alexa told him with a smile, glancing out of the window as he pulled away and tore down the street. ''Nice to get away for a while, you know?''

''Get up to much?''

''I mainly just hung out with the guys. We watched a lot of TV, I did Scott's podcast, went to my first ever hockey game...''

''You've _never_ been before?''

She snorted. ''Yeah, I know, I fail at being Canadian... and I got a tattoo. Phil lives right above this studio, so he convinced me to get another one.''

''What did you get?''

They had just stopped at a red light, so Alexa ducked her head down and moved her hair out of the way so he could see the new tattoo she had behind her left ear. It was a small silhouette of Peter Pan, Wendy, John and Michael flying through the air. ''I loved that movie as a kid. My dad told me that I used to insist on leaving my window open, just in case Peter Pan would come visit me.''

He chuckled and the car started moving again. ''I bet you were a cute kid.''

''I was adorable.'' She confirmed as she reached over to punch at the radio, which had Colby's iPod connected to it. "Do you not have any decent music on here?" She asked, continuing to scan through songs that she didn't recognize. ''When we get back, I'm going to lend you my iPod so you can listen to some _real _music.'' She smiled when she found some AC/DC and pressed play.

''You like this?'' He asked, sounding surprised.

''I _love_ this.''

''Funny, I pegged you as more of a Taylor Swift kind of girl.''

''How dare you.'' She deadpanned, glaring across at him.

* * *

Several hours, a hot bath and a couple of glasses of wine later, Alexa was feeling relaxed and ready for a quiet night in front of the television. She had thrown on her black pyjama shorts with an old Beastie Boys t-shirt and towel dried her hair, before settling on the couch. She was just beginning to flick through the cable channels for something to watch when she was interrupted by a soft knock. She headed over to the door, swinging it open and mouth dropping open in surprise at the face staring back at her.

Jon.

''Hey.'' Alexa offered him a smile, letting her eyes wander over him appreciatively. Dressed in his usual combination of jeans, t-shirt and leather jacket; he looked just as good as usual, the scruff on his face making him infinitely more attractive to her. ''You want to come in?''

''Sure.''

The moved wordlessly into the living room, both taking up seats on the sofa before she cleared her throat awkwardly. ''So, uh, wh-''

''You're driving me fucking crazy!'' Jon's frustrated cry cut her off and she gaped over at him as he ran a hand through his hair. ''I can't stop thinking about you, and the kiss... I like you, a lot, but I'm not good with shit like this...''

She felt his warm breath fan across her face as he moved closer, looking up into his deep blue eyes, getting lost in the intensity. ''Jon...''

''I've been trying to ignore it... I tried to hook up with some chick the other night but I couldn't go through with it...because all I could think about was you... I_ really _don't want to fuck up our friendsh-''

Before he knew what was happening she had launched herself at him, arms wrapping around his neck and her lips smashing against his as she kissed him fiercely. A moment passed without him responding and she briefly thought he would break the kiss and shove her away.

But he didn't.

Instead, he poured all his frustration into the kiss, his hands trailing down her sides as she slung her left leg over his lap, moving so she was straddling him.

Alexa could feel his strong hands traveling up her knees to her thighs, coming around to cup her backside. He gave it a gentle squeeze before breaking away from her, his lips beginning an assault on her neck as she whimpered, hands fisting his hair tightly. His hands skimmed the skin underneath her shirt, and she shivered at the contact.

Using his strength, he flipped their positions and Alexa's felt her back hit the seat. She opened her mouth to speak but was quickly cut off when he covered her mouth with his own; the scruff on his face tickling her skin as their lips danced. She let her hands wander down his muscular back, coming to rest on his behind. Arching her body into his, she let out a husky moan when she felt the proof that he was enjoying this just as much as she was.

Breaking away from her, Jon's lips found their way down to the base of her neck; she groaned as he nipped lightly on the tanned flesh he found, heat coursing through her body.

''Jon...''

Alexa felt him smirk against her neck and, seemingly satisfied that the skin would be adorned with his mark, moved his lips back up to hers. She was in the process of pushing his leather jacket down his shoulders when he moved away from her lips.

He let out a low groan, and leaned his forehead against hers. ''Maybe we shouldn't...''

''You don't want me?'' She looked up at him dejectedly, her chest heaving against his.

''I think you can _feel _how much I want you.'' He rolled his hips and smirked as she sucked in a sharp breath, his arousal pressing against her. ''All I want to do is rip your clothes off... I'm just trying to do the right thing.''

Alexa didn't say a word, instead, she leaned up and kissed just under his ear. Her lips slowly trailed down his neck and she opened her mouth when she reached his collarbone, letting her teeth lightly graze over it. A guttural moan tore from his throat and she smiled, moving her mouth up to his ear. ''What about what feels right?''

She lay her head back against the arm rest and he looked down as he contemplated her words; her hair was wildly fanned around her head, her swollen lips were curled in a sultry smile and her eyes were looking up at him expectantly.

They just stared at each other for a second before he shrugged out of his jacket and pulled his t-shirt off, discarding it over his shoulder. Her eyes shamelessly swept over him and she lifted her hand, raking her nails over his bare chest. His hand traced up and down her thigh as their lips crashed together, she caught his bottom lip in her teeth and gently pulled, eliciting a low growl from Jon.

''I think you're wearing too many clothes.''

''You going to do something about that?" She responded playfully.

He chuckled and pushed her shirt up, trailing soft kisses up her stomach as she lifted her torso so he could pull the fabric over her head. His lips came down to kiss the swell of her breasts as he slipped his hand behind her back, deftly unhooked the bra and threw it across the room.

Alexa's eyes fluttered closed as he took a nipple into his mouth, flicking his tongue over it before giving it a gentle bite. The contact drew a whimper from her lips and she ran her hands over the muscles in his arms and shoulders, before her fingers wound into his hair. She threw her head back as he continued the assault on her breasts, tightening her legs around his waist as she ground against his erection, pleasurable jolts shooting through her body with every rise and fall of her hips.

Jon rolled his hips in time with hers and moved his lips up to her ear, biting gently on the lobe before he captured her lips. She quivered underneath him as the kiss became hungrier, one of his hands moving down to her shorts. He pushed past the fabric, softly running his fingers over her most sensitive spot and she let out a moan.

"Maybe we should move this to your bedroom..." He murmured.

Alexa couldn't form any coherent words, her body still being teased mercilessly by his skilled hands, letting out another moan instead. He smirked, adding more pressure to his light caressing.

''Jon!"

He pulled his hand away from its teasing and grasped her tightly, pulling her up from the couch. She latched her hand into his and started to lead him down the hallway, only managing a few feet before he pinned her against the wall and claimed her lips roughly. He slowly slid his hand over her stomach before dipping it into her shorts, groaning when he felt how ready she was for him.

Alexa found herself pressed harder against the wall as he drove two fingers inside her. A sharp gasp escaped her lips as he used his thumb to circle the bundle of nerves, his lips making their way to her neck. She moaned, her breathing quickening as her hips began to move with his hand.

"Fuck!" Her nails dug into his shoulder.

She kissed him as she pulled him tighter to her, groaning into his mouth as he drove his fingers faster. He pulled away from her lips and gazed down at her, feeling himself growing painfully harder as he took in her wanton appearance. Her head was tilted back against the wall, eyes closed and her bottom lip was sucked in between her teeth.

"Anybody ever tell you how fucking gorgeous you are?" He pushed his fingers into her harder, feeling her begin to tighten around them.

Alexa moaned, feeling the familiar sensation start to build. He quickened his pace and her nails dug into his shoulders as he kissed her, his tongue wrestling with hers. Her cries grew louder and he could feel her growing tighter around his fingers before her whole body tensed.

"Oh, fuck!" She twitched and arched against his upper body as she rode the waves of her orgasm out.

He withdrew his fingers and she panted heavily as she looked up at him. ''Bedroom. Now."


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N - I was close to just abandoning this story but when I saw the comments on the last chapter it made me change my mind, thank you so much to everyone who took the time to review, it really means a lot :)**

* * *

**Monday 3rd August**

''One more, come on! You can do it!"

''You're fucking killing me!" Alexa complained, grimacing as she struggled to keep up her pace.

She was working out in the gym at the FCW building with Celeste, and now understood why the other women rarely joined her; she was a complete gym Nazi. Thankfully, she made it through the last set of squats before grabbing her bottle and gulping down a few mouthfuls of water.

''You did great!'' Celeste told her. ''Five minute break and then back to work.''

Alexa groaned, causing the other woman to let out a small laugh. She raised the bottle back to her lips and inclined her head to the doorway, where she found April and Shaul making their way inside.

''Lex, You're still standing.'' April teased, sending the other woman a grin. ''I'm impressed. I swear I nearly die every time I work out with her.''

''I'll definitely be sore tomorrow, that's for sure.'' Alexa laughed.

''From the workout?'' Shaul asked, a cheeky twinkle in her eyes. ''Or from all the sex you were having this weekend?''

Alexa choked on her drink as April and Celeste turned to look at her with identical shocked expressions. She quickly wiped at the water that had dribbled down her chin and tried her best to look nonchalant. ''What are you talking about?''

"Well, you are in an exceptionally good mood today." The younger woman observed as she eyed her.

''So?'' She snorted.

''So... that, and the huge hickey on your neck, brings me to the conclusion that you finally got laid.''

Alexa quickly pulled her hair over the left side of her neck so that it covered the offending mark; Shaul let out a cackle and high-fived the other two women. The door to the gym suddenly swung open and hit the wall with a loud bang, cutting off her response. They glanced over to the entrance and Alexa inwardly groaned when she saw Jon follow Colby inside.

''Ladies.'' The latter greeted as the pair walked past them, heading over to the benches.

''Well?''

''Yeah, who was it?''

''Anybody we know?''

''Nope.'' She replied with a smirk, her eyes still focused on Jon.

''Lex...'' Shaul whined, pouting at her old friend. ''Come on, give us something!''

''Holy shit, dude!''

Colby's exclamation made the three women turn around to see what was going on, their eyes gliding to the two men in the corner. Jon had removed his shirt, revealing several angry red lines running down the length of his back, accompanied by crescent shaped marks on his shoulders.

The man shrugged, his lips curling into a smug grin as his eyes snapped up to meet Alexa's briefly. ''Totally worth it, bro.''

* * *

After spending what felt like the entire day at the gym, Alexa had never been so grateful for her couch and a slice of pizza. Shaul had been the only one to notice the exchange between her and Jon at the gym, and made her spill everything in exchange for her silence on the matter.

''So, are you two together now or...''

She just shrugged as she picked at the crust of her pizza. ''We didn't really talk about it.''

Shaul cocked an eyebrow at her. "I bet you didn't."

"You don't think I'm a slut?'' Alexa asked softly. ''I've slept with Randy too... I don't want to get a reputation...''

"What the fuck, Lex? Of course not!" She insisted. ''You and Randy were in a long-term relationship and that was a long time ago. Anybody who knows you, knows that you're not the kind of person who just jumps into bed with someone just for the hell of it.''

''I'm not, or, at least, I wasn't... I don't know what's going on.''

''You need to talk to him, set things straight.''

She nodded, knowing that her friend was right. ''I know.''

The conversation came to an end and Alexa pulled out her phone as Shaul went to visit the bathroom, updating her Twitter.

_ RealSierra: Ate salad for dinner. Mostly croutons and tomatoes. Really, just one big, round crouton covered with tomato sauce. And cheese... I ate a pizza._

A small smile made its way onto her face when she found a text from Jon, she let out a snort when she read it.

_**I think I'll have to get you a scratching post for Christmas.**_

_Or I could just keep using your back, if you're up for it, that is?_

_**I could be persuaded...**_

_I'm sure that won't be hard._

''You're texting lover boy, aren't you?''

Alexa glanced up as Shaul breezed into the room, jumping back onto the sofa and tucking her legs up. ''Maybe...''

_**Oh, it will be. Very hard.**_

* * *

**Tuesday 9th August**

_''You hear about Melina and Gail?''_

The two women had both been released from the company a few days before. On a personal level, Alexa found herself slightly pleased that they were gone, having had issues with both women in the past. But, on a professional level, she knew that they were two of the best female wrestlers that the WWE had and that losing them was a huge blow to the division.

Alexa balanced her cell phone between her shoulder and her ear as she grabbed her gym bag out of her car. ''Honestly, I can't say I'm too upset.''

Trish let out a snort from the other end of the phone. _''It's a shame, they were two of the best wrestlers there.''_

''Yeah, well, if they had both dropped the attitude they might have lasted longer.'' She scoffed, making her way into the FCW building.

_''True. So, anyway, I called to ask if you need a place to stay when you come up for Adam's appreciation night in September?''_

''Oh, I hadn't really thought about it. I just assumed I'd book into a hotel or something.''

_''Don't be stupid, you can stay with me and Ron! We've got plenty of room, plus it'll be nice to catch up properly.''_

''You sure he won't mind?''

_''Pfft, like he has a choice!''_

Alexa snorted as she used her hip to shove open the door to the women's locker room. ''Cool, well I'll give you a call when I've booked my flight, let you know the details and stuff.''

_''You haven't booked it yet?''_

''Nope.''

_''Nothing's changed, you still leave things until the last minute.''_

''What can I say? I'm a creature of habit.''

After saying their goodbyes, she dropped her phone on top of her bag and turned around; jumping in surprise when she found Jon standing directly behind her. ''Jesus Christ, Jon!'' Her hand shot to her chest. ''You almost gave me a fucking heart attack!"

His deep chuckle echoed through the room. ''Sorry.''

''What do yo-''

Alexa was cut off when he backed her up against the wall, his lips crashing hard against hers. His hands roughly gripped her waist as she clawed at his back, a soft whimper escaping as he caught her bottom lip in his teeth and gently tugged. She pulled away after a few moments, gasping for breath and looked up to find him smirking down at her. She barely had time to register the feral look in his eyes before he dipped down and began to slowly trail kisses up her neck.

''Jon... we need to talk.'' She moved her hands up to rest on his shoulders, her nails digging into his leather jacket.

''Sounds serious.''

''I just want to make sure we're both on the same page.''

''Alright.'' He murmured, lips still skimming along her neck.

''Will you focus? Please?''

Sighing, he pulled away. ''Look, I like you. Quite a lot, actually, but I don't want a relationship. I've always sucked at them and I know it'll end badly...''

''We're friends. That doesn't have to change.'' She kept her eyes locked on his, trying to portray as much indifference as possible. ''Why don't we just keep it casual?''

''Casual?'' He cocked a brow at the suggestion.

''We don't have to put a label on anything... let's just go with the flow.'' She shrugged.

He thought it over for a second before regarding her with a smirk. ''You sure you'll be able to handle it?''

''Get over yourself, you're not that great.'' She scoffed.

''I've got marks on my back that say otherwise.''

''Maybe you should refresh my memory.''

Jon reached down and tangled his hands in her hair, pulling her to him. Their mouths were just about to meet when they were interrupted.

''Yo, Torres!?"

She let out a disappointed sigh and Jon stepped back from her just as Colby came barreling into the room, followed by another man.

''Lex, this is Matt Polinsky.'' He gestured to the man beside him with a smile. ''He's just been signed, I'm playing tour guide today.''

''Hey, it's great to meet you.'' Matt smiled, holding out a hand.

Alexa smiled, taking his offer in a handshake. ''Likewise... you know, you look kind of familiar, have we met before?''

''I don't think so, I'm sure I'd remember.'' His lips quirked into a smirk.

Her head cocked to the side for a few moments before her eyes widened in realization. ''Sterling James Keenan, right?'' At his nod, she continued. ''2003, Pennsylvania. Ring of Honor Retribution: Round Robin Challenge II...''

''Holy shit! No way, _you're_ the chick who used to hang with Punk and Cabana!''

''Small world, huh? You look so much different now. Back then, you looked like Edge and John Morrison's love child!"

Colby let out a loud snort and Jon chuckled at the woman's comparison.

''That's... actually pretty accurate.'' Matt admitted with a grin. ''But, looking better now, I hope?''

She let her eyes travel up and down his figure, not even bothering to hide the fact that she was checking him out. ''Oh, yeah. Much better.''

Colby shook his head in amusement. ''We're going to head out tonight for a few drinks, if you two want to come?''

She nodded, shooting a sideways look at the Cincinnati native. ''Sure, I'm up for it.''

The double-meaning of her words was not lost on Jon, who smirked at her. ''I'll be there.''

* * *

''You look smokin', girl!"

Alexa snorted out a laugh as she finally reached the group who were crowded around a table at the bar, glancing down at her outfit. She wore a tight black skirt which reached mid-thigh, a pair of black suede ankle boots and an oversized white tee; the v-neckline cut low enough to show off her ample cleavage. Her hair had just been shoved up in a messy ponytail and her make-up was simple; just some thick black eyeliner and some foundation.

''Thanks, Trin.'' She glanced around at the faces around her. ''Hey, guys.''

Trinity, April, Celeste and Ariane were on one side of the table while Joe, Ettore and Matt took up the other side. Feeling herself deflate slightly when she couldn't see Jon, she excused herself to go and get a drink.

''Lex!"

Half-way to the bar, she was intercepted by Colby and a beautiful, dark-haired woman who she assumed to be his girlfriend.

''This is Leighla.'' He grinned happily. ''Leighla, this is Lex.''

''Nice to finally put a face to the name, this one doesn't shut up about you.'' Alexa smiled at the woman as he gestured to the man beside her.

Leighla laughed at the faint blush that started to cover her boyfriend's face, giving him a quick peck on the cheek. ''It's great to meet you too.''

After a few minutes of small talk she made her way towards the busy bar, patiently waiting to be served. Ten minutes later, she was still waiting. Huffing in exasperation, she was about to give up and head back to the table when she felt a strong hand on her back, keeping her in place. Seeing it was only Jon, she bit back the tongue lashing she had been planning and smiled up at him.

He leaned down and spoke into her ear. ''What do you want?''

Trying to ignore the effect his close proximity had on her she managed a reply, ''Vodka and Coke, please.''

He nodded and whistled, easily catching the bartenders attention. He ordered their drinks and casually rested his elbows on the bar, making the definition in his arms impossible to ignore. His faded jeans did nothing to hide the firm muscle of his thighs and a snug fitting shirt doing much the same for his chest under his patent black leather jacket.

She quickly tore her gaze away as he handed her the drink. ''Thank you.''

''No problem.'' His gaze raked hungrily over her body. "You look fucking hot, by the way.''

She took a sip of her drink before leaning closer to him, her lips curling into a smirk. ''You want to know a secret?''

''What?'' He rasped, eyes narrowing slightly.

Alexa leaned up and made sure her mouth was right next to his ear, before whispering. "I'm not wearing any underwear."

''You're evil.''

The husky tone of his voice sent a rush of heat through her body and she stepped back, a teasing glint in her eyes as she started to walk away. ''Catch you later.''

''Damn right you will.''

Hours later, Alexa had gone through more than a couple of drinks and was really starting to feel the effects. Their group had grown in numbers as the night went on. Jonathan and Jey Fatu, the Uso brothers, had joined them; Trinity had been excited to finally be able to introduce her new friend to her fiancé and his twin. Alexa thought they were both great guys and, much to everyone elses shock, had no trouble telling the two apart.

''What about you, Lex?''

''Yeah, ever get starstruck?''

All the women were huddled around one side of the table, while the guys took up the opposite side; both groups talking amongst themselves. The women's conversation had turned to people in the business that they most wanted to meet, or had met.

''I totally marked the fuck out when I met 'Taker.'' She admitted sheepishly.

* * *

_Alexa's eyes were glued to the screen of her cell phone as she searched through her contacts for Eddie's number. She had just arrived at the arena for the Smackdown taping and had, so far, been unable to find the locker room, or anybody who could help her find it. She was just about to hit the call button, her finger hovering over the screen, when she walked headfirst into a very solid chest. She looked up and found herself staring into the eyes of The Undertaker_

_"Holy Shit! Oh my God, I'm so sorry, I was – oh God – sorry."_

_Mark Calaway's eyes twinkled in amusement. "Take a breath, darlin'." He chuckled as she visibly did as he asked and inhaled deeply. ''Where you headed in such a hurry?''_

_''Uh...I'm trying to find the women's locker room and, failing that, Eddie Guerrero.'' She told him with a small smile, not quite believing she was standing in front of the Phenom himself._

_''I think I can help you there.'' He told her with a smile, before turning and pointing down the hallway. ''If you go down there and turn left, the locker room's the second door on the right.''_

_She raised an eyebrow. ''Do you make a habit of knowing where the women's locker room is?''_

_He shook his head and he let out a laugh. ''Not usually, but it's right next to the men's so I couldn't really miss it.''_

_''Well, I'd better go and get ready, I'm late enough as it it.'' Alexa told him, shifting her gym bag to her other shoulder. ''Sorry again for running into you.''_

* * *

''I love the Undetaker.'' April declared, taking a small sip of her coke.

''He's awesome.'' Alexa grinned. ''And pretty hot for an old guy...''

''Gross, he's old enough to be your father.'' Ariane pointed out, lips turned up in disgust.

''And yet, not my father, so therefore, fair game.'' She waggled her eyebrows.

''Somehow, I don't think you're his type.'' Celeste told her, patting her shoulder in mock-sympathy.

"A girl can dream...'' She sighed dramatically. ''Oftentimes does, too... sweaty, thrusty dreams...'' She trailed off, noticing that all the guys across the table were gaping at her with varying looks of horror on their faces. ''Lighten up, guys. I'm just joshing.''

"No sweaty, thrusty dreams?" April asked hopefully.

"Nope." Alexa shook her head, her nose crinkling just a bit. "Although, they wouldn't be unwelcome."

"Jesus... You're a special kind of weird." Jon shook his head from across the table, an amused smile on his face.

''You love it.''

''Lex, can I ask you something?'' Ariane piped up. ''It's kind of personal...''

''Sure.'' Alexa shrugged.

Trinity fixed her friend with a stern look. ''Ari, no.''

''Oh, please, you want to know just a bad as the rest of us. She doesn't have to answer if she doesn't want to.''

The other woman leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms over her chest. ''Fine. But, girl, I ain't helping you if she slaps you.''

''I was just curious.'' Ariane started, moving forward to rest her forearms on the table. ''When you were with Randy... did he ever do the 'Orton pose' after, you know, being intimate?''

Alexa stared at her for a moment before bursting into laughter. ''Surprisingly, no. But I did it a couple of times.''

The younger woman reached over to give her a high-five. ''Nice.''

* * *

Ariane had eventually grown bored of talking and after a few more drinks and a little persuasion, managed to drag Alexa over to the dance floor. Every so often, a sleazy-looking man kept approaching Ariane, trying to dance with her and not taking no for an answer. Each time, Alexa had to grab her hand and pull her to a different part of the dance floor but he kept following, obviously not getting the hint. Ariane was too polite to tell him to just get lost, but Alexa had no such qualms.

''Stop!" She shouted over the music, putting her hand out to stop him moving any closer to them. "Take the hint, she's not interested!"

"Is that because you want me all to yourself, dollface?" He yelled back, dancing over to her with a smirk.

She rolled her eyes and latched on to her friend's arm, turning them around to walk away. As she did so, the man drunkenly reached out and grabbed her ass making her stop dead in her tracks. Without thinking, she spun around and sent her fist flying, hitting him square in the face. She heard a sickening crunch and his hands immediately rose to his face to cup his nose.

''Ari, go back to the table, I've got this.''

Ariane muttered something unintelligible in response before darting off through the crowd. She quickly arrived back at the table, panic clear in her eyes. ''Some guy just grabbed Lex's ass so she punched him!"

''What?!''

''Seriously?''

Everyone turned towards the dance floor curiously, just able to see Alexa over in the corner. There was a tall man stood opposite her, hands cupping his nose as she cussed him out angrily.

''We should help her.'' Joe suggested, his eyes not leaving the scene.

Trinity snorted. ''Doesn't look like she needs much help.''

Alexa was glaring at the man in front of her as he stood, blood starting to drip through his fingers. ''What the fuck?''

She crossed her arms over her chest and stared at him defiantly. ''What gives you the right to put your hands on me?''

''I was just having fun.'' He spat angrily, stepping towards her. ''You crazy fucking bitch!"

''_I'm_ crazy?!" She asked in disbelief, standing her ground as he moved closer.

Jon's eyes darkened in ire as he rose from his seat, starting to move around the table to go and intervene if needed.

''You know what, you're not even worth the calories I'm burning by talking to you.'' Alexa quipped before turning around to make her way back to the table. She didn't get very far, the man reached out and grabbed hold of her arm from behind, swinging her around and pulling her to him.

Jon didn't waste any time and instinctively started to march towards the dance floor, closely followed by the rest of the men of the group.

''I suggest you let go of me before I kick your ass.'' She warned, trying to pull herself out of his tight grasp.

''A little thing like you? I don't thin-''

She watched in amusement as the man let out a pained cry and dropped to the ground mid-sentance; one arm clutching at himself where she had driven her knee up into his crotch. The other rubbing his throat, where she had elbowed him, leaving the man coughing as he frantically tried to catch his breath.

Alexa turned around after briefly admiring her handiwork; only to pause when she found Jon, Joe, Colby, Ettore, Matt and the twins standing directly in front of her. ''Uh, hey, guys...''

"You alright?" Joe asked, concern clear on his features.

''I'm okay.'' She shrugged. ''I handled it."

Colby snorted and looked down to where the man was still wheezing on the floor. ''Obviously.''

''Thanks for coming to my rescue, guys."

Matt scoffed and smiled down at her. ''I think that guy was more in need of rescuing than you were.''

Ettore gave her a hearty pat on the back. ''I'll grab you a drink, we can celebrate your badass-ness.''

After double checking that she was alright, everyone else ambled off, leaving her alone with Jon. Avoiding his intense gaze, she glanced down at her knuckles which were slowly starting to swell.

''You need to ice that.''

She shook her head, flexing her hand in front of her. ''It's fine...''

''I've got to say, I'm a little turned on right now.''

Her eyes snapped up to his and she let out a surprised laugh. ''Seriously?''

Jon nodded slowly, stepping closer and invading her personal space. She felt his minty breath fan across her face as he spoke lowly. ''I was on my way over here to kick his ass for you, but you did it yourself... it was really hot.''

''And you call _me _a weirdo...''

He chuckled, lifting his hand to caress her face before guiding her face to his, gently brushing his lips over hers. Nibbling gently on her lower lip, he deepened the kiss briefly before pulling away.

Alexa let out a quiet whine. ''Fucking tease.''

''Payback for earlier.'' He drawled into her ear. ''Besides, it's not teasing if I plan on following it through.''


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N - A massive thank you to tatyasdias, ThatGirl54, UntilNeverDawns and ian87 for your reviews :)**

* * *

**Wednesday 10th August**

Alexa woke up cuddled against Jon, the Florida sun spilling in through her bedroom window. She was resting on her side, her head lying in the crook of his shoulder. Their legs were entwined under the duvet and his arm was wrapped around her, his strong hand resting on her hip. Not wanting to wake him, she softly skimmed her fingers across his chest, feeling it expanding underneath her hand with each slow breath he took. Glancing up, she allowed herself a small smile, finding him fast asleep with a peaceful expression on his handsome face.

"You know how fucking creepy it is to watch people sleep, right?" Jon's sleepy voice interrupted her musings, his arm pulling her body flush against his.

''It's pretty rare that you've got your mouth shut, I wanted to enjoy the moment.'' She grinned up at him.

"Whatever, creeper."

''Asshole.''

Placing a soft kiss on his cheek, she shifted away from him towards the edge of the bed, intending to get out. Jon's arm immediately curled around her waist, easily pulling her back towards him. She landed on top of his chest with a laugh and lightly ran her hands over his shoulders, feeling a couple of deep scars under her fingertips.

''We should get up.''

''Nope.''

Before she knew what was happening, Jon had her pinned underneath him as his lips started to attack her neck.

''Jon-''

He quickly silenced her by moving his lips from her neck to her mouth. Her arms tightened around him as he pressed her further into the material of the bed. She moaned deep in her throat as Jon ran his hand along her thigh, stopping short of where she wanted him to touch her the most. Her back arched off the bed as his mouth trailed down her chest and he flicked his tongue against her nipple, another moan escaping her lips.

_**I've got another confession to make, I'm your fool. Everyone's got their chains to break, Holdin' you.**_

Alexa groaned as her cellphone rang, the Foo Fighter's song echoing loudly throughout the room. Jon ignored it and carried on lavishing attention to her chest.

_**Were you born to resist or be abused? Is someone getting the best, the best, the best, the best of you? **_

Letting out a dramatic groan she reluctantly pushed Jon away and reached her arm out to grab it, but ended up knocking the lamp to the floor.

''Motherfucker...''

_**Is someone getting the best, the best, the best, the best of you?**_

Second time lucky, she managed to grasp the cell in her hand and hold it up to her ear as she flopped back down.

''Yo.''

_''Did I wake you?'' _Darren's voice emerged from the speaker.

"No, no, I was awake already." Alexa replied, her eyes meeting Jon's as he started to run his hands up her thighs. ''What's up?''

_''I just wanted to remind you about the meeting later today, the one you said you would be attending.''_

''Okay... Um, just to jog my memory, which meeting would this be again?'' She bit her lip to smother a moan, Jon's mouth was on her ear, his tongue teasing her earlobe.

_''The meeting where we'll be going over the schedules for the next few TV tapings. I believe some of the girls wanted you there to help them plan some of their matches.''_

Jon had moved down to her neck, and his fingers were probing her more intimate areas making it almost impossible to concentrate. ''Um, sure, yeah, that's fine... What time's the meeting?''

_''4 o'clock.''_

''Okay. I'll see you there. Bye.'' She threw her phone across the bed before pouncing on Jon.

* * *

Alexa rushed down the hall towards the meeting room, hoping they hadn't started without her. She had spent most of the day in bed with Jon, and they had lost track of time. He had left her place an hour ago, planning to head straight here while she took a shower and got ready.

Not bothering to knock, she turned the handle and barged into the room. The door swung open with more force than she had anticipated and slammed into the adjacent wall with a loud bang. She cringed as everyone turned to look at her, her cheeks flushing red in embarrassment.

''Sorry I'm late... I, uh, overslept.''

''It's four thirty in the afternoon...'' Darren furrowed his brows. ''Not to worry, Steve isn't here yet anyway.''

"Argh!" Colby gasped in mock-horror as she took the empty seat beside him. "Why aren't you wearing make-up? My eyes are burning!"

"You're such a dick." She punched his shoulder lightly. "I know I look like shit. I really don't need reminding.''

''Did you not get enough sleep last night, Lex?'' Jon looked at her innocently as she turned to face him.

''Lex, how's your hand?!" Matt called from the opposite side of the room, saving her from thinking of a response.

After proudly showing off her bruised knuckles, the nickname 'Rocky' was bestowed upon her by the guys, much to her amusement.

* * *

Almost an hour later, she could feel her eyelids slowly slipping closed when she was elbowed sharply in the ribs by Colby. She grunted softly, instantly straightening up and paying attention to Steve Keirn. He was going over the women's matches for the following evenings taping as well as the ones planned for the next couple of weeks.

Živilė 'Aksana' Raudonienė had a singles match against Ashley 'Audrey Marie' Miller. There was a mixed tag team match involving Ashley and Irena 'Leah West' Janjic, with Matt 'Mike Dalton' Clement and Matt 'Mack Hetfield' Hannen as their respective partners. Karlee 'Maxine' Perez would be teaming with Živilė to take on Ariane and Trinity as well as April and Celeste.

Steve smiled widely as he turned towards the women. ''Now, Tom's away for a while and Alexa's kindly agreed to help you guys put your matches together. Make the most of her expertise, she knows what it takes to be in the big leagues so she knows what she's talking about.''

''Pfft.''

Turning to find the source of the noise, Alexa rose an eyebrow when she found Irena staring over at her with an unimpressed look on her face. ''Problem?''

''Yes, actually.'' She told her, annoyance clear in her eyes as she turned to Steve. ''I think it's a bit insulting to assume that any of us need help putting a match together, especially from her.''

''I don't understand.'' Steve said, the young woman's attitude leaving him flabbergasted.

''Well, it's obvious that she only did as well as she did because she was screwing Orton.'' She explained nonchalantly before meeting the other woman's eyes. ''And, I don't know about anybody else, but I'd rather get by on my own merits than by whose bed I'm warming.''

There was a long, uncomfortable silence as everyone tried to get over their initial shock at what had just come out of the woman's mouth. Several people glanced over towards Alexa warily, trying to gauge her reaction.

On the outside, she was the epitome of calm and composed. Inside, however, she was beyond angry. ''You have _no_ idea what you're talking about.''

''Oh, I'm just repeating what I've heard.'' Irena gave her a sympathetic smile which didn't quite reach her eyes. ''Besides, it seemed a little 'convenient' you got injured right after Orton dumped you, never to be seen again.''

Alexa let out an incredulous laugh making everyone eye her nervously. ''You know, I might actually care what you think... if I knew who the hell you were. Maybe if you put more effort into your wrestling than you do into running your mouth, you might actually make more of an impact around here.'' She commented, hearing a few muffled laughs from around the room.

''Well, I've obviously hit a nerve. Just because everybody thinks you're a whore, don't take it out on me.''

Tears sprang to her eyes at the harsh comment and she took a deep breath to calm her down, biting her tongue so she wouldn't say anything that she would regret later. Turns out, she didn't have to say anything because somebody quickly jumped to her defence.

''Listen to me, young lady. Alexandra has been through a lot and worked harder than most to get where she is today, her past relationships had absolutely _nothing _to do with it. Jealousy will get you nowhere in this business. I suggest you lose your attitude and learn some respect.''

Everyone gaped at Darren in surprise for a few moments, before Steve stood and cleared his throat. ''Right, I think this meeting's over... Irena, my office. I think we need a little chat.''

* * *

**Sunday 11th September**

''Who's that guy over there with Colby?''

''Oh, that's the new guy that's just been signed; Claudio Castagnoli. I think they know each other from their Ring of Honor days.''

''I thought I recognized him...'' Alexa muttered befored returned her attention to the practice ring, where Joe, Ettore and Matt were horsing around.

''So when's your flight?'' Trinity asked, before taking another bite of her pizza.

''Tomorrow afternoon. I tried to get on the same one as Karlee, April and Darren but I left it too late.''

The trio had flown out to Toronto that morning, all of them due to appear on NXT which would be filmed just before Smackdown on Tuesday. Darren would be commentating, as usual, while the two women had a match against each other.

''Excited?''

She scoffed. ''Nervous. I haven't been in front of a live crowd that huge in years.''

Trinity chuckled, wrapping an arm around her. ''Gril, you'll be fine. It's not like you've got a match, you've just got to walk down the ramp and say a few words.''

Alexa's lips curled into a soft smile at the other woman's reassurance. They had spent a lot of time together recently, after Trinity had come to her and asked for some help to improve some of her in-ring skills. Once they had got over the initial 'getting to know you' stage, they had really hit it off.

After a while, Trinity left to head home, leaving Alexa to munch away at the pizza whilst watching the men in the ring. She wasn't alone for very long, with Colby and his friend eventually wandering over in her direction.

''Hey.'' She greeted, sending them a warm smile.

''Hey. Lex, this is Claudio.'' He jerked his thumb towards the man standing beside him. ''Claudio, this is Lex... she's a little weird, but you get used to it.''

She stuck her tongue out at him before turning her gaze to the tall man standing beside him. ''Nice to meet you Claudio. I've seen a lot of your Ring of Honor matches, you're pretty great.''

''Oh, thank you, that's really nice of you to say.''

''When did you see his matches?'' Colby asked.

''When I was in my neck brace I couldn't do a lot, I literally watched wrestling videos on YouTube the whole time.''

''Yeah right, I bet you spent most of it watching porn.''

''Don't judge everyone by your own standards, Jon.'' She rolled her eyes and turned to face the newcomer. ''Besides, who needs porn when I can just look in the mirror?''

Colby snorted and shook his head, turning to his old friend. ''See what I mean?''

She just flipped him off and grabbed a slice of pizza from the box next to her. An indignant cry left her lips as it was snatched out of her hand just before it reached her lips. ''Jon!"

He looked down at her, his mouth full of pizza. "What?"

"Jesus, Jon, swallow." Her face screwed up in disgust.

He smirked. "That's what she said."

''You really need to stop eating so much crap, Lex.'' Colby admonished, looking down at the half-eaten pizza disdainfully.

''Sorry, Dad...''

''Don't listen to him, you look just fine the way you are.''

She beamed up at the Swiss. ''Thank you, Claudio.''

''Oh, no, I didn't mean it like that. You look great, Lex. It's just not good for you, that's all.''

''Do I get a bonus point if I act like I care?'' She cocked her eyebrow.

Claudio and Jon started to snigger as Colby let out an exasperated huff. ''Fine. When your ass balloons to the size of a bouncy castle, don't come crying to me.''

She fixed him with a defiant look before picking up a slice, the three men watching in morbid fascination as she shoved the entire thing in her mouth. It took her a few minutes to chew through the pizza before she finally managed to swallow it. ''I'm not ashamed of myself. I'm not, but I should be.''

Colby looked horrified, Claudio had an eyebrow raised and the hint of a smile on his face while Jon looked down at her with an impressed grin. ''You're fucking awesome.''

His hand moved towards her face and he used his finger to wipe some tomato sauce from the corner of her mouth. Alexa's mouth dropped open as he put the finger in his mouth, before smirking mischievously at her.

''Okay, this is getting weird.'' Colby muttered uncomfortably.

''Ring's free!" Matt's voice carried over to them.

''My turn.'' Alexa declared as she jumped to her feet. ''Lopez? Want another ass-kicking?''

''I'll pass, thanks.'' He replied drolly.

''Come on.'' Jon cocked his head towards the ring. ''I'll go easy on you.''

She shot him an impish grin. ''Where's the fun in that?''

Colby and Claudio took up seats beside Joe, Matt and Ettore as the pair climbed inside the ring.

"You sure you're up for this, sweetheart?" Jon drawled.

''Are you?'' She countered, her hands reached down to the hem of her hoody and started to yank it up; revealing an expanse of smooth, bronze skin.

"Whooo! Yeah, take it off!"

Alexa rolled her eyes and flipped Colby the bird, tossing the discarded item to the side, glancing up to find Jon's lecherous gaze on her chest. She adjusted the straps of her sports bra before holding her arms up in front of her in the guard position.

When he didn't make a move, she decided to lunge at him, which he easily dodged and moved around behind her. Quickly grabbing her arm, he maneuvered her into position and locked in an abdominal stretch. She groaned, trying to struggle out of it, but his grip was too strong.

"Tap, bitch!" He demanded playfully.

''C'mon, Lex!" Joe hollered from opposite them.

She continued to struggle against his hold, letting out several grunts of frustration when she couldn't. ''Fuck!"

''Be quiet and take it like a good girl."

Alexa glared up at him pointedly. ''I can take it like a good girl... but I'm never quiet about it."

His smirk quickly vanished and she used the distraction to swing her leg back, catching him hard in the shin. Surprise forced him to release her, and she quickly took a few steps back.

''Is this like foreplay for them or something?''

Colby guffawed and turned to give the Swiss man an amused look. ''Dude, they're not together.''

Claudio looked dubiously at the pair in the ring. ''Really?''

''I have to admit, I was thinking the same...'' Matt piped up.

Joe shook his head. ''They're just good friends.''

Jon and Alexa lunged towards each other simultaneously, locking up in the middle of the ring. She leaned sideways, tangling her feet around his and expertly taking him down to the mat. The unexpected fall knocked the wind from his lungs and, before he could moved, she locked in her variation of the Muta lock; with her arms stretched under his and hands locked together under his chin.

''Tap, bitch!"

He growled when laughter from the guys reached his ears, his own comment from earlier being used against him. He stubbornly refused to tap and after a few minutes, her arms started to falter from the strain, enabling him to power out of the hold.

They went to grab each other again, Jon ducked under her arm and wrenched it around her back. Spinning around and dropping down to the mat, he easily dragged her over the top of him. She let out a gasp as she landed hard on her back, her arm still caught in Jon's tight grasp as she looked up at his smug grin.

Her eyes narrowed before she kipped up and untwisted her arm from his grip. Quickly dropping down to the mat, she extending her legs and swept his out from under him. He fell back, landing on his ass in a rather undignified way as a scowl appeared on his face.

Alexa scrambled to her feet, grinning when she saw his frustrated expression; seeing him lose his cool was adorable.

''You're going to have to kick his ass without an audience, Lex.''

She turned to pout at Joe, who was making his way towards the exit with the others. ''You guys are leaving?''

''Yeah, it's getting late.''

''Okay, I guess I'll see you all when I get back. Try not to miss me too much.''

''That won't be difficult.'' Ettore teased.

Colby snorted. ''Yea, we'll be making the most of the peace and quiet.''

They all headed out after saying their goodbyes, and she turned back to face Jon. ''Ready to admit defeat yet, hot stuff?''

''You're asking for trouble...''

Alexa responded with a wink, causing the man to let out a husky growl before running at her. She just about managed to duck under his outstretched arm and ran forwards into the ropes, bouncing back towards him. Just before they made contact, she jumped up high with her legs spread apart and he ran under them. Spinning around as he ran back in her direction, she ducked down and used his momentum against him, flipping him over her head. He caught her hips as he slammed down behind her, and before she knew it, he executed a sunset-flip.

He sat up and leaned over her, pinning her by pressing her legs up either side of her chest. His weight pressed down on her and she bit her lip as she looked up at him; he was breathing hard and his deep blue eyes were full of fire, she had never been more turned on in her life.

Alexa reached up and grabbed his head, pulling him towards her and crashing her lips against his. His grip on her legs vanished and he planted his hands on the mat either side of her head to support himself. She hooked her legs around his waist to pull him closer, letting out a soft moan when his hips thrust against hers.

''Does this mean I win?'' He rasped, starting to trail kisses down her neck.

''No...'' She arched her back into him as his teeth scraped across her throat. Throwing her legs sideways, she flipped them over so she was resting on his hips. ''_I_ win.''

His hands ran over her thighs, trailing slowly up her waist as she bent down to kiss him again. She pulled back just before their lips met and pushed herself up into a standing position. Looking down at the man laying between her legs, she chuckled at his put-out expression. ''Come on, stud. Maybe we can both _win _back at my place.''


	15. Chapter 15

**Tuesday 13th September**

''I think I'm going to hurl...''

Alexa was standing in the gorilla position with Jason, her eyes locked on a nearby monitor as she watched Adam make his way down to the ring.

''Don't be such a sissy. God, Judy's acting cooler than you.''

''Thanks for the sympathy, Jay.'' She murmured, glancing over to the curtain and finding he was right; Adam's mother was happily chatting away to Terry 'Rhyno' Gerin, showing no sign of nerves whatsoever.

The Canadian beside her rolled his eyes, bumping her with his shoulder. ''Seriously, you'll be fine. It's not like it's live, who cares?''

''I care, asshole.'' She bumped him back, a small smile on her face as she watched Adam address the crowd.

* * *

_''I'm sure you guys are probably sick of seeing me by now...''_

_''Nah.'' Trish disagreed._

_''I, uh, I don't know what an appreciation night is, I have to admit, I feel a little awkward and I feel a little weird and I feel a little shy... I, uh, I don't deserve all of this stuff... I just... uh... it's weird... Thank you! I mean, I appreciate it and all, but, I don't know what to say...''_

* * *

''He's totally going to cry tonight.'' Jason laughed.

She glanced sideways at him, letting out a snort. ''Probably, I've got money on you getting weepy too.''

''You bet on my tears?''

''Sure did, Captain Charisma.'' She teased. ''Don't let me down.''

A 'Thank You Edge' chant started to echo through the arena, making goosebumps rise over her skin.

* * *

_''Well, thank all of you. And thank you, Trish. Uh, I remember Trish coming up to me at an autograph session that I had, and she asked me; How do I do this thing? How do I get into the WWE? How do I become a wrestler?''_

_''How do I become you?'' Trish added with a grin._

_''And I just thought... damn, she's hot! That's pretty much all I thought.''_

_''Yeah, you didn't really give me an answer, you just kind of stared at me!"_

* * *

''Why do I have to wait 'til last? Wouldn't it make more sense to get me out-of-the-way first?'' Alexa asked as a stagehand brought over a microphone for Jason.

''We debated doing that but we thought, no offence, that it might kind of overshadow the rest of the night.''

''Dude, Bret-fucking-Hart's here, like anybody's going to be able to top that!"

Jason chuckled. ''That's true. But we figured that you were most likely to get the biggest response from the crowd... hence, you're last.''

''Fine.'' She grumbled.

They shared a quick hug before he walked over to the curtain to join Adam's mom and friends, ready for their cue.

* * *

_The Edge tribute video package aired and the camera zoomed back onto the blonde, who was crying. Another 'THANK YOU EDGE' chant started up and his teary smile was caught by the camera._

_''I don't know if you really want to get that close... uh, I didn't really know they were going to do that, so, sorry... I didn't plan on crying out here, damn it. Ah... I don't know what to say... I really don't.''_

_He was saved from having to say anything as Christian's entrance music hit, the man appearing at the top of the ramp a few seconds later._

_''Just want to say something real quick; I know you've seen Edge and I bickering a little bit lately. But that's the thing that I respect most about Edge, and I think that he respects about me, that we're closer than friends... we're brothers. And we're completely one hundred percent honest with each other, all the time, whether we want to hear it or not. And that's the great thing about our relationship. That being said, I thought a great way to, uh, appreciate Edge, on Edge Appreciation Night, would be to round-up some people who are very close in his life... and I'd like to bring those people out right now. First and foremost, the cornerstone of Adam's life; the person that taught him the most about hard work... Adam, I have to call him Adam in this situation, I'm sorry, uh... he came from very humble beginnings and he's, uh, worked for every single thing that he has. You need to know that... But it was also because of this person, that worked her finger to the bone, two, three jobs at a time... to make sure that he realized his dream... Judy Copeland... Adam's mother... I'd like to bring her out here right now. So, Mrs. Copeland, come on out.''_

_The the older woman walk out onto the stage, giving Jason a one-armed hug. The audience started up a 'THANK YOU MOM' chant as Adam laughed from inside the ring. ''Yeah, thank you, mom!"_

* * *

''You're looking a little nervous.''

Alexa started as an unexpected voice sounded, her eyes widened when she turned around. Bret 'The Hitman' Hart was standing right in front of her. ''Holy shitballs...''

His lips quirked in amusement. "Fan?"

''Yeah...'' She felt a blush start to work its way up her face. ''Sorry.''

''Don't be. It's always nice to meet fans.''

Her eyes flicked back to the screen where Jason had introduced some of Adam's old friends, and they were making their way down to the ring. Adam greeted each one with tight hug, the raw emotion clear to see on his face.

* * *

_''Just real quick, I know I'm taking up a lot of time here. I just have one more thing to say to Edge, and that's... look, nobody knows more than me and I think we already heard you say it, that, you know, you're no comfortable with these kind of things... these kind of things they make Edge feel very uncomfortable, but there's a reason that every single person stayed here well after the show was over tonight. There's a reason that every single superstar back there is glued to the monitor. It's because Edge Appreciation Night is something that you're earned... it means the respect that your peers, the fans, not just here in Toronto, but all over the world, have for you... because of what you did inside this ring. The fact that you left it in this ring every single night, and you managed to stay the same, humble human being that you always were. The entire time you never changed. And I also want to say that... I mean, there's a lot more that I want to say but I'm just forgetting it right now, but... I just want to say that nobody appreciated you more than me. That I love you. That I know, without you, I wouldn't be standing here today. And the whether in the WWE or not, I will always be your biggest fan... I want you to know that.''_

* * *

Alexa watched, tearing up herself, as Jason's voice started to break and the two men shared an emotional hug in the centre of the ring.

''That's my cue, guess I'll see you out there.'' Bret smiled before moving over to the curtain, joining Sweet Daddy Siki, who was waiting for him.

* * *

_Trish stepped towards Adam in the ring, raising the microphone to her lips. ''And we have someone else we want to bring out. Another Canadian that showed us that we, as Canadians, can go out there and do it around the world... The best there is. The best there was and the best there ever will be! Bret Hart!"_

_The Hitman made his way down to the ring, alongside Sweet Daddy Siki, the crowd giving him a roaring ovation. Adam greeted Bret with a quick hug before wrapping his former trainer up in a longer one, the two men sharing a few words before Bret grabbed a microphone._

_''I just want to say, I remember meeting Edge on the Dini Petty Show, so many years ago. He was just a little, skinny kid. And, uh, you know, I remember him very clearly that day and it doesn't surprise me at all when I look at you today and see all the things that you achieved, all the great accomplishments that you've made in this industry. You really raised the bar for so many of us. And you know, I remember Edge, he was so hungry and he really wanted it so bad... to be the great wrestler that he's become, just looking at you I know that you're a man who lived his dream. And, uh, look at him, ten times WWE World Champion, that says it all. That's, uh, hell, I can't even come close to that. Not even if you throw in WCW, I still can't claim ten World Titles. But, this is a very special night, it's a very special night for Canadian's, it's a very special night for wrestling fans all around the world, it's a special night for people from Toronto! This is what we've been waiting for. A chance to say thank you for everything you've done and thank you for all the leadership skills, and the hard work... I can't think of another wrestler that left it on the field or left it in the ring more than you did. You were, you were something to watch, but I know that this is not the end, I see great things coming for you down the road. And I just hope that somehow... I have a lot of experience having your career end on a bad note... I went through the same thing, but the truth is... the reason that you're not going to have any problems going through the future is because you've always been on the edge, that's why you are the edge, and that you always lived on the edge... but you have so much to say, so many things going for you that I don't have any doubts in my mind that this is just one more moment in a moment of greats, you're going to have greatness follow you for the rest of your life. I'll wrap it up on that note, uh, it's a pleasure to be here, it's a pleasure for me to bring the Sweet Daddy Siki here... he had a lot to do with Edge getting his start in the beginning of his career. When I met Edge and Christian, I kind of brought them up to Calgary and I started teaching them in my house and people say that I helped get your career started, but the truth is, you didn't need any help from me. You were going to make it all on your own. I think I told you that a long time ago. In saying that, you were always the best in class, you were always the best one in the whole bunch and I'm really proud of you and I think... I don't know what else to say to add onto that, but... you are the best there is, the best there was and the best there ever will be!"_

* * *

''Miss. Torres, you're up next.''

Alexa took the microphone from the man with a smile, quietly thanking him before taking in a deep breath and walking over to the curtain. Feeling a buzz come from the pocket of her jeans, she quickly pulled her phone out and opened up the message.

_**Knock 'em dead, sweetcheeks - Jon.**_

Her lips curled into a smile, wondering how he knew exactly what to say and when to say it to make her feel better. She slipped it back into her pocket and listened to Trish as she started her introduction.

* * *

_''Now... there is one more person who wanted to come here and appreciate you today, Edge. Someone who you know very well... She managed to weasel her way into our backstage Canadian Club, despite only being half-Canadian... some of you fans here might remember her... Sierra!"_

_Headstrong__ by Trapt suddenly blasted through the speakers, sending the crowd into a frenzy. The cheers were deafening as Alexa stepped through the curtain, doubling in volumes when she appeared at the top of the ramp. Grinning, she threw her arm up in the air in acknowledgement of their support before making her way down to the ring._

_As soon as she had climbed into the ring, she made a beeline for Adam, who pulled her into a tight hug. Stepping back, she laughed at his surprised grin and raised the microphone to her lips._

_''Surprise!''_

_She wasn't able to say anything else, a SIERRA chant hitting the arena which was too loud for her to talk over. It eventually died down and Adam laughed, before glaring at her in mock-anger._

_''Hey, stop stealing my thunder!"_

_''Sorry, thanks guys... but seriously, tonight's all about Adam and I just wanted to come here tonight to say a few words. Hopefully I won't bore you to death! Uh... I first met Adam way back in 2004, on my very first night on Raw. I was a huge Edge and Christian fan before coming to the WWE so I was super excited to meet him, and he didn't disappoint. I was also lucky enough to get to work with him quite a bit, which was amazing... I really learnt a lot and I loved every second of it... Now, there's no doubt about it, Adam's an amazing wrestler and performer, I don't need to tell you all that. But what you don't know... is that he's an even better friend. Adam and Jay became like the two, annoying older brothers that I never wanted... The three of us were constantly pulling pranks on each other backstage, which, I think, got on a lot of people's nerves... but it was all in good fun. So, I know that the way you've been forced to retire sucks... it really sucks... but my dad used to tell me that sometimes the bad things that happen in our lives, put us directly on the path to the best things that will ever happen to us... So, whatever you decide to do next, I think it's going to be just as awesome.'' _

_She lowered the microphone, stepping into Adam's outstretched arms and wrapping him in a tight embrace. ''You're a sneaky bitch, why didn't you tell me you were coming?'' He whispered into her hair._

_''And miss the look on your face, not a chance!" _

_After Alexa had said her piece, the entire roster had gone out to the ring, giving Adam a well-deserved standing ovation. After messing around with some of the superstars and hijacking a camera from the camera-man in the ring, Adam and Jason did one last five-second-pose before Adam made his way up the ramp with him mom. They did his classic rocker pose together at the top of the ramp before walking backstage, tears running down the man's face._

* * *

''I'm getting some serious déjà vu here...''

Alexa grinned as she looked around the room, the scene bringing back memories from her early years with the WWE. Adam, Jason, Trish and herself were all sitting around one of the empty locker rooms they had found in the arena. A lot of the production staff were still milling around, getting everything from the show packed up and loaded into the trailers. Most of the superstars had left; either heading to the airport to catch a flight home or back to the hotel.

''Totally... it's just like old times.'' Jason nodded, a nostalgic smile on his face.

Alexa smirked over at him. ''Yeah, the only difference being everyone has a few more wrinkles.''

Adam snorted, giving her a quick once-over. ''Except you, you practically look the same as you did back when you first started.''

''Bitch.'' Trish joked.

''I still can't get used to you not being around, man.'' Jason said softly. ''It's really weird.''

The self-proclaimed Rated R Superstar sent him over a small smile. ''I know, dude... Lex will be back on the road with you soon, they you'll have her to annoy.''

''Yeah.'' She nodded, smiling over at her friend. ''Hopefully it'll be sooner rather than later.''

Their conversation was halted by a sharp knock at the door, followed by Darren poking his head in. ''Sorry to interrupt.''

Adam grinned. ''No problem, man, what's up?''

The Brit smiled, swinging the door opened to reveal a small group of superstars, all carrying several bottles of alcohol. ''The arena staff said that we could stay here as long as we like, so we thought we'd have a little send off for you...''

* * *

_I miss you... sorry, that was my vagina._

''Who are you texting?''

Alexa quickly hid the message that she had just sent to Jon, planting an innocent smile on her face as she glanced up at Trish. ''Nobody...''

The Canadian narrowed her eyes and swiped the phone from the other woman's grasp, quickly opening up the message. ''Lex!" She cried, her eyes widening. ''Who's Jon?!"

She huffed and snatched the phone back, slipping it inside her pocket. ''Just a friend.''

''Who's just a friend?''

Trish smirked, shooting Beth a sideways look. ''Some guy called Jon who, I think, has regular access to Lex's lady parts.''

''Oh my God.'' Alexa flushed, feeling mortified as she buried her face in her hands.

''So I'm right?'' Trish asked, laughing as the two women took up seats beside her on the bench.

''Come on, spill.'' Beth encouraged.

Alexa sighed and glanced around.

Adam and Jason were in the corner of the room, surrounded by Zack 'Matt Cardona' Ryder, Ron 'R-Truth' Killings and Mike 'The Miz' Mizanin as they re-told some of their experiences. On the opposite side of the room, T.J. 'Tyson Kidd' Wilson, Stephen 'Sheamus' Farrelly, Stuart 'Wade Barrett' Bennett, Nattie 'Natalya' Neidhart and Darren were doing the same.

Happy that nobody would be able to overhear them, she turned to the two women. ''I met Jon down at FCW and we became really good friends. I guess somewhere along the way we started to like each other, but neither of us want a relationship.''

''So, you're doing the whole 'friends with benefits' deal?'' Beth quirked an eyebrow.

Trish shook her head, a concerned look spreading across her face. ''Lex, are you sure that's a good idea?''

''Probably not, but when has that ever stopped me.''

''Just be careful. Personally, I don't think that kind of thing ever works.''

Beth nodded in agreement. ''Yeah, the second that someone feels something more for the other person... everything starts getting messy.''

''I know, I-''

Her phone buzzed and she quickly yanked it out of her pocket, pulling up the message.

_**Let me know when you're back... I won't stop until your legs are shaking and your neighbors know my name...**_

Alexa bit her lip, feeling her cheeks heat up.

Trish let out a snort. ''I don't think I even want to know what that says.''

Beth laughed as the younger woman's face went bright red. ''I don't know, I'm kind of curious now, it's not like Lex to blush.''

A knock on the door cut through the room and her response died on her lips when she looked up and found Randy lurking in the doorway, staring right at her. ''Uh, sorry to interrupt guys. Can I steal you for a sec, Lex?''

Jason stood and into the centre of the room. ''Is now really the time, Randy?''

''It'll only take a second, I promise.''

''It's fine, Jay.'' Alexa sighed and reluctantly stood, stalking over to the doorway. ''I won't be long.'' Making sure to leave the door open slightly, she followed Randy out into the hallway, crossing her arms over her chest as she looked up at him expectantly. ''What do you want?''

He shifted uncomfortably before finally meeting her eyes. ''Firstly, I just wanted to apologize for what happened the last time we saw each other... I didn't mean for you to get hurt, if I knew you were behind me, I would never have-''

''What about before that, huh?'' She interjected angrily. ''You know, when you had me pinned up against the wall? Did you mean to do that?''

''I know it's not an excuse, but I'd had a lot to drink... I don't know what came over me. I'm sorry.''

''Fine.'' She shrugged. ''Is that all?''

He sighed, letting out a huff of frustration. ''You're never going to forgive me, are you?''

''You know what, maybe we should stay friends...''

''Really?''

''No! Go fuck yourself!'' An incredulous snort escaped her lips. ''After everything you did to me, you actually expect me to forgive you? Were you dropped on your head as an infant, or were you just born stupid?''

''Listen, Lex-''

''No. _You _listen.'' She demanded, her eyes gleaming with angry tears. ''I loved you and I thought you loved me. You didn't even have the fucking balls to tell me yourself, I had to find out through the dirt sheets. You completely fucked me over, Randy. Do you have any idea how it feels? Knowing that you aren't even worth the truth from the one person you trust most in the world? It fucking killed me...''

''I'm sorry.''

She ignored him, everything that she had been feeling the past few years coming pouring out of her mouth. ''And I've even been defending you! Everyone said that because of you, my head wasn't in the match that night and blamed you for my accident. But I stuck up for you... even though, deep down, there's a little part of me that agrees with them.''

''You think I don't know that! I've blamed myself ever since it happened! You don't know how hard it was, having to watch you go through that, knowing I couldn't be there for you.''

''_I _don't know how hard it was?! You've got a fucking nerve. If you cared so much, where were you? Huh? Nothing was stopping you from visiting me. I didn't get so much as a fucking phone call to see how I was.''

''I didn't think you'd want to hear from me.''

''Well, you were wrong. Even after everything you'd done, I still loved you... but you turned your back on me... and when you didn't call or visit, it just made it so much easier for me to move on. You too, apparently, since you got married and all... How is Samantha?''

His eyes flashed dangerously. ''Lex, don't.''

''Don't what? Don't bring your _wife _into it? I hope she knows what she's letting herself in for... the cheating, the alcohol...the drugs... does she know about that?'' She stood her ground as he stepped towards her, the muscles in his jaw clenching angrily. ''I stuck by you through everything... fuck, the amount of times I covered for you with Vince because you were too high to go out and have your match... if it wasn't for me, you would have been fired years ago.''

''That's all in the past. I'm clean now, have been for a while.''

''Good, and for the sake of your daughter, I really hope it stays that way.'' Alexa told him honestly. ''But that doesn't magically fix everything between us.''

''I know that.''

''You know, I used to think that I needed you... but I finally realized the only person I ever needed was myself.''

''Lex-''

''And, just so you know, the only reason I haven't answered any questions about _us _in interviews, is because of her... When she grows up, and can read all about you on the internet or whatever... I don't want to be the one responsible for her finding out what her father's really like.''

Alexa's stormy eyes remained locked on his for a few seconds before she went to step around him, planning on heading back to the locker room. His arm reached out and grabbed onto her upper arm, halting her movement and she let out a heavy sigh.

''Let go, Randy.'' She spoke softly.

''I just... don't want us to leave things like this.''

''You don't get to decide. Now, either you let go of my arm, or I'll do what I've been dying to do for the past three years.''

''Please, Lex-''

Alexa soon found herself standing over Randy, in a scene almost identical to the one at the club several nights ago. As soon as he knee had connected with his groin, he had released her arm and dropped straight to the ground, cupping himself as his face screwed up in pain.

''Uh... everything okay?''

She looked up, finding Adam's concerned face peering around the door frame. ''Yeah.'' Her eyes moved down to the man on the floor. ''I think we're done here.''


	16. Chapter 16

**Thursday 15th September**

''That was...''

''Uh-huh...''

Jon had made good on his promise and they now lay in a sweaty tangle of limbs, her head resting on his chest as he idly ran his fingers through her hair.

''So, how was the show, you get booed?''

Alexa rolled her eyes and prodded him gently in the ribs. ''_No_. I got a pretty loud cheer actually, it was awesome.''

''I bet... are they going to be showing it on TV?''

''I don't know, I'm sure it'll appear on the internet at some point though.''

He nodded, glancing down at her. ''Anything else happen?''

''I met Bret Hart!" She exclaimed, suddenly remembering the awkward encounter. ''I made a complete idiot of myself, as per usual, but he was nice about it... all I have to do now is meet Roddy Piper and my life will be complete!"

Jon snorted at her excitement. ''You're a Piper fan?''

''Huge! I had the biggest crush on him when I was younger... I think it was the kilt...'' She quickly reached up, placing a finger over his lips as he was about to speak. ''Before you say anything, yes, I'm aware that I'm a weirdo... thank you.''

He smiled down at her before grabbing her hand and placing a tender kiss on her fingers. ''I wouldn't have you any other way.''

''Good to know.'' She spoke softly, laying her head back on his chest as he kept hold of her hand, tracing soft patterns over the lines of her palm. ''I, uh, also had a little run-in with Randy...''

His movements faltered slightly as she spoke. ''What happened?''

''He's delusional. He thought we could put everything behind us and be friends or something... we argued, he grabbed my arm, and I may, or may not, have kicked him in the balls.''

Jon laughed, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. ''Good. He's a dick.''

''Understatement of the year.''

''The last time you saw him, you came back with bruises all over your face and arms.'' He started softly. ''You just said he grabbed you the other night... did he ever hit you, back when you were together?''

''There were times when I thought he might, usually whenever he was high... but no, he never hit me.''

''I'd heard a few things about his drug problems, wasn't sure if any of it was true though.''

She let out a wry laugh. ''Oh, it's true. The stuff that's been documented is only the half of it, the reality was much worse... steroids, weed, sleeping pills... I got back to our hotel room one night and found him... he'd overdosed and stopped breathing... it was rough.''

''Why did you stay with him?''

''I loved him.''

Jon tentatively broke the silence that had fallen over them. ''I had a drug problem... back in my early twenties. I was wrestling in Puerto Rico, which was pretty decent money. Being so young and having so much extra cash in a place like that... just lead to me popping pills and taking a shit load of drugs. I lost a ton of weight, I wasn't sleeping, I wasn't eating... Honestly, I'm surprised I'm still alive...''

''How did you get out of it?''

''I came home... cleaned myself up. I got turned down by Johnny Ace for a developmental contract because I'd lost so much weight... but then I built myself back up and made something of myself in the indies before finally getting this WWE contract... so in the end, I guess it all worked out.''

''What's that saying...'' She murmured, watching the gentle rise and fall of his broad chest. ''Sometimes the wrong choices bring us to the right places.''

* * *

**Thursday 13th October**

''Yes!"

''Okay, that's it. I don't know how, but she's cheating. Nobody can be that attractive and this good at a video game.''

''Don't be such a sore loser, Pollinsky.''

''Yeah dude, it's not her fault you suck.''

Alexa laughed at the sour expression on the man's face as he glared over at Joe, who was watching from the other side of the room. The two men had been going over their match for the TV tapings that night when she had joined them. Somehow their conversation had turned to video games which lead to their impromptu game in the lounge room of the building.

''Best of three?''

* * *

Jon paused as he walked down the hallway of the FCW arena, yanking his headphones form his ears and hearing loud laughter as he passed one of the rooms. He took a few steps back and glanced through the doorway.

Alexa and Matt were perched on the small couch playing WWE Smackdown vs Raw 2011 on the Playstation. They were both laughing as he shoulder barged her in an attempt to throw her off, while Joe was chucking from his seat in the corner.

An irrational feeling of jealousy awakened in him as he watched the pair interact before he quickly shook it off, reminding himself he had no reason to feel that way. ''What's going on?'' He asked, leaning into the room.

Joe glanced over at him, amusement shining in his eyes. ''Lex keeps beating Matt.''

''Really, Matt? Beaten by a girl...''

''Didn't you get beaten up by said girl last week in the ring?'' He shot back, not taking his eyes off the screen.

Alexa turned, sending a smug smirk his way as Matt leaned over and pressed all the buttons on her controller. Her head snapped back to the television just in time to see herself get pinned, her mouth falling open in outrage. Matt raised his arms in victory and she dropped her controller, moving over to put him in a headlock.

''You fucker!"

The other two men laughed as they watched them grapple on the couch, before another body appeared beside Jon in the doorway. ''What have I told you about manhandling the talent, Alexandra.''

''It's okay, Darren, I don't mind...''

Alexa's eyebrows furrowed and she glanced down, finding that their current position had Matt's face squashed against her chest. She quickly released him, shoving her away from him as he sent her a cheeky wink.

''I need to borrow you for a while, if that's alright?''

''Sure thing.'' She hopped up off the couch with an impish grin. ''I'm getting sick of winning anyway.''

''Next time, Torres.'' Matt warned her.

Alexa just rolled her eyes as she crossed the room. As she passed Jon, she discretely reached out to give his ass a light squeeze, letting out a soft laugh when he jumped at the sudden contact. She followed Darren down the hallway, not having to turn around to know that Jon was staring after her.

* * *

The sound of bodies hitting the mat echoed around the training room as Alexa and Darren walked inside. Živilė, Ariane, Ashley and Irena were joined inside one of the rings by Adam 'Joey Mercury' Birch, who had recently signed up at FCW as a trainer. The four women were due to have a tag team match later on that night and were running over some moves as the man offered them his expertise.

''So, why am I here?'' Alexa asked, turning to face the man beside her.

''Well, we thought they could benefit from some time with you. Especially young Ariane, she's... got a lot to learn.''

She snorted at his polite way of saying she sucked and the pair wandered over to the ring. Adam told Ashely and Živilė to take a quick breather while he and Alexa spent some time with the two newest members of the roster, Ariane and Irena. Ignoring the glares the latter kept sending her way, Alexa joined Adam in the middle of the ring.

"Watch this carefully, Ariane."

He whispered a few words into Alexa's ear before picking her up and dropping her to the mat in a hard body slam.

"See how Lex controls her body and protects her head and neck on landing? You can't let your opponent do all the work for you, you need to work as a team. You're both responsible for each others safety as well as your own.''

Ariane nodded as she watched them, taking it all in eagerly. ''Can you teach me how to do a DDT?''

''Sure.'' Alexa and Adam squared up and she lifted up her foot, placing the flat of it over his abdomen. ''First thing you have to do is kick him right in the stomach.'' She demonstrated and the man doubled over like he was in pain. ''You've only got to _tap _him with the flat of your foot, then pull it away really quickly... for the actual DDT, you start by putting him in a front facelock, your arm needs to be tight around his neck." She wrapped her forearm around Adam's neck as she explained, before looking over at Ariane. "Then all you have to do is kick your legs out from under you. You'll take a back bump and he'll take a face bump. Make sure you do something to let him know you're about to go, a slap on the back or something is usually easiest. As you go down, you'll need to loosen your arm... if it stays tight around the neck then he's just going to go face first into the canvas.''

Alexa gave him a quick smack on the back before kicking her legs out from underneath her, performing a textbook DDT. She turned to face Ariane with a smile. "Want to give it a go?"

* * *

Alexa grunted as she landed hard on the mat, the wind being momentarily knocked out of her.

''Shit, sorry Lex.''

She had been training one-on-one with Ariane in the ring for just under an hour while Adam and Irena watched from the side. She had just attempted a snap suplex but got the angle slightly wrong, meaning Alexa's landing was off.

She smiled as Ariane helped her to her feet. ''It's okay.''

''You know, I really appreciate you helping me out. I know I'm a slow learner and you've been really patient with me.''

''You're doing great.'' Alexa encouraged.

''How about you three have a quick match?'' Adam suggested to the women. ''You two against Lex and I'll referee.''

Ariane and Alexa started the 'match' off, the younger woman being able to perform every move that had been asked of her, albeit a little sloppily. Eventually, Irena tagged in, charging towards her with her arm outstretched.

Expertly ducking underneath, Alexa waited until other woman had turned to face her before crouching down and sweeping her legs out from under her. Irena hit the mat with a bang, surprise etched on her face as she looked up at her. After a few more minutes of moves back and forth, the two women locked up in the middle of the ring.

Alexa was suddenly sent reeling back when the other woman's elbow connected solidly with her face; she felt her teeth rattle together and her head started to swim as she stumbled backwards, using the ropes to support herself. Her teeth must have cut into her bottom lip when Irena hit her, she could taste the metallic tang as blood started to pool in her mouth.

''Lex, you alright?''

Ignoring Adam's concerned voice, she opened her mouth and tentatively touched the inside of her lip, wincing when she found a deep cut.

''Lex?''

''I'm fine.'' She told him, swiping away the blood that was slowly trickling down her chin.

After sending one last glare Irena's way, she quickly climbed out of the ring, the sound of Adam admonishing the woman reaching her ears as she stalked across the room. She was beyond pissed off; knowing what had just happened was no accident, having seen the smug look on Irena's face when she saw the blood. She had no idea what had made the woman hate her so much that she would act so unprofessionally.

Glancing up as she neared the exit, she spotted Jon making his way inside, closely followed by Darren. The pair presumably planning on using the ring so they could go over their upcoming match.

They came to a halt in front of her and, catching sight of her murderous expression, the Englishman's smile quickly turned into a frown. ''What's the matter?''

''Nothing. I'm peachy.'' Unaware that her teeth were coated in blood, she flashed him a sarcastic grin and felt the warm liquid drip down her chin. Their expressions were a mix of concern and disgust as she quickly cupped her hand over her mouth.

''Jesus, how did that happen?'' Jon asked.

''Irena stiffed me.''

Instead of making an innuendo, like the other two expected, Jon stepped forward and nudged her hand out-of-the-way. Placing once hand under her chin, he used the other to gently pull her bottom lip out, eyes furrowed as he assessed the damage.

''Looks like it needs stitches.''

''No, it's fine.'' She insisted, trying to shove him away.

''Your tooth's gone right through the skin, I'm telling you, it needs stitches.''

Darren stepped forward, taking a quick look before glancing at her sympathetically. ''I think he's right, you should head down to the trainer's office. Mark should be there.''

''Fantastic.'' She groaned, rolling her eyes.

''Would you like one of us to come with you?'' Darren asked kindly. ''I know how much you despise needles.''

Alexa shot him a grateful smile but shook her head. ''I'll be fine, I've got my big girl panties on today.'' She watched as Jon smirked before opening his mouth, and quickly cut across whatever comment he was about to make. ''You guys go ahead, I know you've got things to go over before the show.''

* * *

_ RealSierra: Battle wound! _

Alexa took a quick selfie showing off her newly stitched lip and her blood coated teeth, before posting that along with her tweet.

''Thanks, doc.''

''No problem, I hope I don't see you here again any time soon.'' The man smiled as he ripped off his gloves and tossed them in the trash.

''Trust me, I don't want that either.''

''Knock, knock.''

Alexa turned, finding Darren's head peering around the doorway. ''Hello, dear.'' He smiled down at her. ''I just came to make sure everything was alright.''

She rolled her eyes good-naturedly and jumped off the medical table. ''Everything's fine. It was only four stitches, I've had worse.''

''She was very brave.''

''Thank you Mark, not at all patronizing...''

The medic laughed. ''She nearly broke the table, her hands were gripping the edge that tightly.''

''Bless.'' Darren offered her his arm. ''Come on. I'll escort you back to the locker room.''

''How gentlemanly of you.'' She laughed, looping her arm through his. They said a quick goodbye to Mark before heading off down the hallway. ''So, will you be gracing us with your presence tomorrow night?''

He glanced across at her. ''Tomorrow night?''

''It's Shaul's twenty-first birthday, we're having a surprise party for her down at the Manhattan.'' She informed him with a smirk. ''I asked you a couple of weeks ago, you're obviously getting forgetful in your old age.''

''Cheeky cow. There's plenty of life in the old dog yet.''

Alexa laughed. ''I don't doubt it. I'm sure you could give most of the guys around here a run for their money.''

''You bet I bloody well could!" Darren puffed out his chest proudly.

''You should come. It's not going to be a wild night or anything, I probably won't drink so you won't be the only sober one there.''

''You don't have to abstain on my account, Alexa. I'm perfectly capably of being around people drinking without feeling the temptation to do so myself.'' He told her softly.

''I'm doing it more for me. I've been partying a lot recently and-''

''I think after everything you've been through over the past few years, you're entitled to let loose every now and then. You're only young, you should be out enjoying yourself, not sitting at home moping around. You know I'd be the first to say something if I thought it was getting a bit much.''

''I know... thank you.''


	17. Chapter 17

**Friday 14th October**

"I win! Ten bucks, fucker."

"You won by default, Jon."

"Yeah, so what if you don't know the difference between the six ball and the eight ball! Pay up."

Alexa snorted, watching as Colby pulled out his wallet with a huff and handed over ten dollars to the other man. A small group of them had decided to head to the Tapper Pub to start the evening off, planning on meeting everybody else later.

Jon frowned as Colby set his cue against the table. "What, you don't want another round?"

"No thanks, I don't want to lose all my money." He stated, taking up a seat beside Darren at the small table that overlooked the pool table.

"What about you Darren?"

"I'm quite happy just sitting and watching, thank you very much.''

''I bet.'' Alexa wiggled her eyebrows, laughing as he tutted at her.

"Lex! Come show me your skills." Jon challenged. "You know how to play right?"

''Of course.''

''Then get up here.''

"And lose my money?"

"You're a rookie so I'll be nice, no bets."

"You didn't let_ me_ get off that easy." Colby whined.

"You get off easy enough on your own Lopez." Alexa quipped, taking a sip of her coke.

He flipped her the bird as the other two men let out barks of laughter.

"You shouldn't be so cocky, Jon." She said, rising from her chair. "A couple of years ago, Chris and I hustled a guy out of six hundred bucks in a game of pool."

''Chris _and_ you?'' Jon raised an eyebrow, not looking at all convinced. "Or just Chris?"

Her eyes narrowed and she grabbed the discarded cue, looking over at him indignantly. ''Guess you'll just have to find out the hard way.''

Jon let out a laugh. "Somebody's getting feisty. Lets see you put your mouth where your cue is.''

She just smirked, chalking up her cue. ''You're on, Jonny boy. I'm going to teach you how to play with your balls like a pro."

"You sure you want to do that here?" He asked before taking a drink of his beer.

''Are they always like this?'' Darren asked the man beside him, his lips spreading into a small smile.

Colby nodded. ''Yeah, you get used to it...''

Alexa pulled some cash out of her pocket before slamming it down on the table. "Just to make it a little more interesting."

He chuckled, throwing his own money down beside hers before racking up the balls. Alexa broke, sinking three solids straight off the bat and sending Jon a wink.

Ten minutes later, the table was almost cleared; all that remained was the eight ball, while Jon was about to line up a shot for.

''Your money's mine, Torres!"

''Your fly's open, Good!" She shot back.

Jon quickly glanced down, only to find she was just joking as she let out a chuckle. He sent her a glare before bending over, angling himself perfectly in front of the cue ball. The eight was in his sight, or at least it was until Alexa bent over in front of the pocket he was aiming for, revealing an ample amount of cleavage, and threw off his line of vision. He hit the ball and sent it soaring in the wrong direction completely missing the eight ball. A devilish grin appeared on her face and she effortlessly sunk the eight ball, Jon watching on in disbelief.

''Way to go, Lex!" Colby cried from the table, reaching out to give her a high-five.

She grinned, moving around the table to stand beside Jon as she gently placed the cue on top of the felt.

''You cheated.''

''I did.''

Their eyes met and a slow smile spread across his face. ''That's my girl.''

Alexa's heart hammered in her chest at his words, biting her lip as her eyes followed his form to the bar. It hadn't been long since they had embarked on their 'relationship' and her feelings for him were growing deeper than she had anticipated... and it scared the hell out of her.

* * *

''You know, it _is_ nice not being the only sober one for once.''

Alexa turned, giving the man who had just slipped into the seat opposite her a smile. It was common knowledge that Darren had his issues with both alcohol and drugs in the past, but had been living a totally clean lifestyle for a few years now.

''It means we can share the responsibility of keeping an eye on our drunken friends.''

''Joy.'' She muttered sarcastically, turning her gaze to the dance floor, where Shaul and Ariane were jumping up and down to the music like idiots.

''How's the lip?''

''It's okay.'' She pouted, sticking her swollen bottom lip out. ''It kind of looks like a botox-job gone wrong though...''

''It's not that bad, dear.'' Darren laughed and gave her a hearty pat on the back.

''I really don't know why Irena hates me so much.''

''Jealousy.'' He said simply. ''Steve's spoken to her and she's on her final warning. Try not to worry yourself over it.''

''I won't.'' She promised, raising the glass of coke to her lips and taking a quick sip.

''Irena aside, you seem to be getting on well with everyone else?''

She nodded a confirmation, a happy smile curling at her lips. ''Everyone's great. I don't even know why I cut myself off from everybody at first... but I'm glad you helped put a stop to my anti-social ways.''

''What do you make of Jon? He's a rather unique young man, isn't he?''

She snorted. ''That's one way to put it.''

Darren chuckled, eyeing her over the top of his glass for a moment before speaking. ''Is there something going on between the two of you?''

Alexa nearly choked on the sip of coke she'd just taken, glancing across at him with curious eyes. ''What makes you say that?''

''Just an inkling.''

''We're just friends.'' She said evenly, suprising herself at how easily the lie slipped through her lips.

He arched an eyebrow but wisely kept his thoughts to himself as the man in question suddenly appeared, dropping into the seat beside Darren.

''What are you two gossiping about over here?'' Jon drawled, glancing between the pair.

''Nothing that concerns you, Jonny boy.'' Alexa sniped quickly.

''I'm just going to pop to the loo.'' Darren rose from his seat, eyeing her as he did so. ''Try not to cause any trouble while I'm gone.''

Alexa's face took on an expression of outrage. ''Me?''

''Yes, you, my dear.''

''Darren, I'm offended you thin-''

''You seem to forget that I've been present during some of your more memorable escapades.'' He cut her off with an arched brow.

''Care to share?'' Jon prompted.

The Englishman just laughed as he walked away from the table, leaving the two alone. Alexa waited until he was out of earshot before meeting Jon's eyes. ''He thinks there's something going on between us.''

"Well, he's kind of right...'' He sighed when she rolled her eyes. ''Listen, we're both adults, we can do whatever the fuck we want. Who gives a shit what anyone else thinks?''

''Yeah, you're right.''

''Don't sound so surprised.''


	18. Chapter 18

**Friday 21st October**

_''Tonight, we are young; So let's set the world on fire, we can burn brighter, than the sun. Tonight, we are young; so let's set the world on fire, we can burn brighter, than the sun...''_

Alexa was singing quietly to herself, her iPod blasting in her ears as she walked inside the Osceola Heritage Park Exhibition Center for the FCW Kissimmee Show that was taking place later that evening.

_''Now I know that I'm not, all that you got. I guess that I... I just thought, maybe we could find new ways to fall apa-''_

A sudden tap on her shoulder made her mouth snap closed and she turned around, her eyes widening slightly as they landed on the man standing in front of her. Yanking out her ear-buds, she beamed up at him. ''Hey!"

''Your taste in music is getting worse.'' Phil told her, shaking his head in disappointment.

She rolled her eyes and pulled him in for a quick hug. Phil was making a special appearance at tonight's show, which she had only found out about from Jon the previous evening. ''Why didn't you tell me you were coming? I had to find out yesterday at the meeting.''

''Slipped my mind.'' He shrugged. ''I only got back from Mexico two days ago so I've been a bit busy.''

"Where are you staying while you're here?"

"Well, there was a homeless guy sleeping underneath a bench outside the airport, and I thought that was a pretty good idea. You know, not having to pay for accommodation or anything... I think I'll find a bench somewhere or even a cardboard box. Then I could cut out windows and-"

Alexa reached up and put her hand over his mouth, an incredulous expression on her face. ''Okay, weirdo... you can stay with me.''

He grinned down at her. ''Thanks, kid.''

She looped her arm through his. ''Let's go find the cafeteria, get some coffee and have a catch up.''

Jon scowled as he watched the two old friends over in the corner of the room, feeling a pang of jealousy as Alexa let out a hearty laugh at something the other man had said. He swallowed hard, reminding himself that he had no right to feel jealous, he had no claim on her. It was only sex. Sex which was beyond anything he had ever experienced before... when they weren't together, he spent every moment thinking of her. Thinking about how she felt in his arms, how she felt beneath him, how it felt to be inside of her...

But, if it _was _just sex, why was he fighting the urge to march over there and shove CM Punk's head up his ass?

''Jon! Are you even listening to me?''

His fiery blue eyes moved back to the Samoan in front of him. ''Sorry, bro.''

Joe cocked a brow and turned in his seat, a knowing smirk creeping onto his face when he saw what had captured the other man's attention. ''Dude... are you jealous?''

''What? No.'' He scoffed, avoiding the other man's gaze. ''Don't be ridiculous.''

Joe held up his hands, letting out a laugh. ''Your vehement denial has been duly noted.''

Jon rolled his eyes. ''Fuck you.''

* * *

Alexa's elbow was propped up on the table, her head resting on her hand as her eyes flicked back and forth between April and Phil. The younger woman had joined them in the cafeteria a while ago and had immediately struck up a conversation with her fellow comic book enthusiast. The pair was exchanging playful banter over the upcoming Avenger's movie as Alexa watched on in amusement.

''Come on? Seriously, Scarlett Johanssen as Black Widow?'' AJ scoffed. ''And the Hulk? Don't even get me started on that.''

''Hulk is awesome!'' Phil cried. ''How can you not want him in the movie?''

''Please, he was an Avenger for what, five minutes? The next thing you know, they'll be doing a freaking Ant-man movie!"

''That _would_ suck.'' Phil agreed.

''The new Spiderman movie looks like it'll be pretty good though.''

''Spiderman's just another guy who ends up with sticky hands after using the web.'' Alexa quipped.

The pair turned to face her; April letting out a snort as Phil just shook his head, used to comments like that from her.

''You two are _perfect _for each other.'' She continued, smiling as they both blushed. ''You should totally get married, have little nerd babies.''

''I hate to tell you this, kid, but you're just as much of a nerd as we are.''

April chuckled. ''Yeah, didn't Darren catch you using the TV in the office to have a Doctor Who marathon last week?''

''What?'' She cried defensively. ''My TV at home broke, I had to watch it somewhere!"

''How can you watch that trash?'' Phil goaded.

She folded her arms over her chest, an indignant expression crossing her features. ''Uh, excuse you, Doctor Who is not trash. It-''

April let out a groan, cutting her off. ''Oh no, here comes another one of her long tangents on the wonders of Doctor Who...''

Phil smirked over at the brunette. ''Sounds like you speak from experience?''

''It's a weekly thing.''

* * *

Alexa headed to the men's locker room, smiling as she passed several of the FCW roster who were making their way out to the ring. The match between Jon and Phil had just ended and they had gone out to join in the thunderous applause from the crowd.

The door was wide open when she reached it, and she looked inside, finding Jon in the corner of the room. He was still in his ring gear, his body glistened in sweat as he toweled off his hair.

She smirked and cocked her head to the side, enjoying the sight in front of her, him all sweaty in his gear.

''Like what you see, sweetheart?''

''Maybe... you know, you should totally let your chest hair grow back.'' She mused as her eyes scanned his chest.

''Yeah?'' He asked with a smirk. ''You liked that?''

''Uh-huh, very sexy.''

''I'll keep that in mind...'' Jon muttered as he shifted closer to her.

Alexa cocked an eyebrow as his arm reached out to grab her wrist, pulling her into his chest. He quickly pushed the door closed with his free hand and she found herself pressed up against it. She felt her heart rate skyrocket as his blue eyes pierced her, slighty obscured by his wet mop of hair. Before she had the chance to protest, he dropped his face to hers and kissed her, catching her bottom lip between his teeth.

They broke apart after a few moments, her hand coming up to play with one of his errant curls. ''You were amazing out there.'' She complimented him, letting out a soft chuckle at the faint blush that tinted his cheeks. During the time they had spent together she had discovered that he didn't accept praise well, something which she assumed steamed from his childhood.

''Thanks.''

''I'm serious, you we-''

Alexa was cut off as his lips descended upon hers again; one of his arms looped around her waist while the other gripped the back of her neck. His mouth began to devour hers and she let out a whimper as his hand moved down, squeezing her bottom.

"Oh my God." She half-heartedly pushed him away. "I want you so bad, but we can't. Not here."

He groaned before reluctantly taking a step back, trying to pull himself together. ''Tonight?''

Shaking her head, she shot him an apprehensive look. ''I can't... I kind of told Phil he could crash at my place.''

Jon cocked his head to the side as he looked at her, an unreadable expression on his face. ''You two seemed pretty cosy earlier...''

''What? In the cafeteria?'' She questioned, letting out a loud guffaw at his nod. ''Are you serious? Is that what all _this_ was about, were you jealous?'' Her eyes widened when she saw him tense, a slow smile spreading over her lips. ''You were, weren't you?''

He scoffed, avoiding eye-contact with her. ''That's _ridiculous_."

"It is... but you _totally_ were."

''We're not together... why would I be jealous?''

''Beats me... But, just for the record, Phil and I are just friends.''


	19. Chapter 19

**Thursday 17th November**

Alexa ignored the looks she was getting from some of her co-workers, keeping her gaze locked on the wall in front of her as she maintained a steady pace on the treadmill; the heavy sound of Metallica blasting in her ears from her iPod.

The TV tapings were happening that night, so the majority of the FCW roster were in attendance; either training or preparing for their match. Because they were recording the next two weeks shows back-to-back, there was a lot more on the card than there normally was. As usual, Alexa had spent most of that morning helping the women put together their matches.

Shaul and Živilė were competing for the Queen of FCW crown. Ariane and Celeste were teaming against Christina 'Caylee Turner' Crawford and the new girl, Ivelisse 'Sofia Cortez' Vélez. She had been one of the contestants on the most recent series of Tough Enough, but had been eliminated from the show due to a severe leg injury. The WWE had signed her to a developmental contract ealier that month, and from what little Alexa had seen of her, she definitely had potential. And April had her last match with FCW that night against Ashley and Živilė. She had been going back and forth since May but was now moving over to the main roster permanently.

The women who knew her fairly well immediately noticed that something wasn't right with her; the foul mood she was in was etched all over her face. Shaul, knowing exactly what was bothering her friend, reassured them all that it was nothing to worry about and that they should just drop it. As soon as the session was over and everybody was happy with everything, Alexa had practically ran out of the door to head to the gym area. Working out had always helped her to clear her head... most of the time.

Slamming her hand on the stop button, Alexa waited until the treadmill slowed before jumping off. She grabbed her water bottle and chugged down a few mouthfuls before slipping her iPod into her pocket and making her way across the room to the exit. Just after she rounded the corner into the hallway, she spotted Joe and Jon walking towards her; the pair obviously heading to the gym.

Not really in the mood to talk to anyone, but not wanting to be rude, she shot them a small smile before quickly breezing past them. The two men slowed to a stop, both turning to look at Alexa's retreating figure in confusion.

* * *

After taking a long shower in the women's locker room, Alexa changed into a pair of jeans and a simple leopard print jumper, her feet clad in her trusty Converse. She took a seat on one of the benches and pulled her purse from her gym bag, slipping out the photo of her father that she kept inside. Smiling sadly, she traced the picture with her finger.

''That your Dad?'' Jon's gravelly voice made her jump, she was so engrossed in her thoughts, she wasn't aware that anybody had joined her. He took a seat beside her as she nodded. ''You look a lot like him.''

''So they say.'' She murmured thoughtfully.

After their brief encounter in the hall, Joe and Jon had sought out the younger woman to see if she knew what was wrong with Alexa; both men having been worried at her unusual mood. They discovered that today marked the thirteenth anniversary of her father's death. And that, coupled with the previous Sunday being the sixth anniversary of Eddie's passing, understandably put her in a sombre mood.

''You, uh, want to talk about it?'' He offered, running a hand through his hair awkwardly.

''Nope.'' She replied quickly, sliding the photo back in its place.

''You don't have to be some tough shit twenty-four-seven, you know.'' Jon told her, waiting patiently for her to open up. He had never been good with emotional women, but he found himself actually _wanting_ to comfort her.

''I know...'' She spoke softly, feeling tears swimming in her eyes. ''I just miss him... it's stupid...''

''It's not stupid.'' He assured her gently. ''I mean, I can't exactly relate or anything, but I think it's normal to feel that way. It's not something you just forget about and get over.''

Alexa nodded, sniffling as Jon pulled her into a sideways embrace. ''Sometimes I wonder what my life would have been like if he was still around, you know? Everything I've done... I just wish I could have shared it all with him.''

''I'm sure he would have been real proud of you.'' He reached out his free hand and brushed the tears from her cheeks.

They shared a moment just looking into each other's eyes before his face broke out in a tender smile, showing off the dimples she loved so much. Gently cupping the side of her face with his hand, he leaned across and slowly kissed her.

It was only brief and he reluctantly pulled away, giving her lip one last nip before stroking her cheek with his thumb. ''Lex, I, uh-''

''Ahem...''

The pair sprang apart and turned to the doorway, finding Shaul standing there with a shit-eating grin on her face.

Jon took a deep breath and rose to his feet. ''Uh, I'm going to go... somewhere else.''

Shaul smirked as she stepped aside to let the man pass before turning to her friend. ''Something I said?''

* * *

**Friday 25th November**

Alexa glanced down at her phone, her eyes scanning over the time for the third time in five minutes. Chris had arranged to meet her over an hour ago, but had yet to arrive. She had forgotten that the man was perpetually late. Letting out an irritated sigh, she called the bartender over and ordered another drink to keep her occupied while she waited.

She thanked the man as he set her drink down on the counter and unlocked her phone to check if she had any new messages. Her lips turned into a frown when she found her inbox empty, hoping that Jon would have been in touch by now. They hadn't spoken in over a week, since Shaul had interrupted whatever he had planned on saying to her.

As weird as it sounded, Alexa had felt like there was something missing without him around. It wasnt love, but she knew she cared about him, a lot more than she was willing to admit.

''Lexi!"

She turned around to see Chris strolling towards her and she grinned, remembering the very first time they had met.

* * *

_Alexa smiled to herself as she walked through the arena at a leisurely pace, taking in the atmosphere. She had signed her official contract with Vince McMachon and the WWE executives six months ago. After training non-stop over at OVW ever since, she would finally be making her TV debut on RAW that night._

_As she walked around yet another corner, it suddenly dawned on her that she had absolutely no idea where exactly she was going. She groaned inwardly but continued walking, hoping that she would run into someone who might be able to help her. After twenty minutes of wandering around the many identical hallways, she came to a halt, cursing under her breath._

_''Ugly mouth for such a pretty little thing.''_

_Alexandra turned on her heel to see a blonde haired man smirking at her, obviously guessing her predicament. As she was an avid WWE fan, she immediately recognized him as Chris Irvine, the man who portrayed Chris Jericho._

_She rolled her eyes good-naturedly. ''Yeah, I got a lot more where that came from, Goldilocks.''_

_''Well, aren't we a little spitfire.'' He moved so he was standing in front of her. ''You lost?''_

_''Is it that obvious?'' She asked with an embarrassed chuckle._

_He laughed. ''Just a little. Where you headed?''_

_''I'm supposed to have a meeting with Stephanie McMahon, she was going to go over everything with me.''_

_''Well, it just so happens that I'm also headed to see Stephanie. Come on.'' He linked arms with her and gently guided her down a different hallway. ''I'm Chris, by the way.''_

_''Alexandra, I prefer Alexa or Lex though.''_

_''Nice to meet you, Lex. So, what made you want to get into the wrestling business?'' _

_''Hot men in tights, what can I say?'' She joked. ''No, my Dad was a wrestler. I went to all the shows with him when I was younger and I just fell in love with it.''_

_Chris smiled slightly. ''How old are you?''_

_''Don't you know it's rude to ask a lady her age.'' She tutted._

_''Yeah, well, I kind of get the impression that you ain't no lady.'' He laughed as she nudged her shoulder into his in retaliation. _

_''That was rude... but probably true.'' She conceded with a smirk. ''If you must know, I'm eighteen.''_

_He raised an eyebrow, surprise evident on his face. ''Really? You must be really talented for Vince to hire someone so young. What did you do before coming here?'' He asked curiously._

_''I travelled down to Mexico, spent most of my time down there on the indy circuits before I did some stuff for ROH. One of Vince's agents spotted me about six months ago. I've been training at OVW ever since and, well, here I am.''_

_''Mexico's great, I worked there for a while back in '92.''_

_''I know.''_

_''How? You were, what, 10?'' He scoffed._

_''7, actually.'' She corrected with a smirk. ''I've seen the tapes, Corazón de León, you were pretty hot back then.''_

_''I'm still hot, thank you very much.'' Chris told her before they came to a stop outside a door. ''Here we are. We'll have a trade stories about our time in Mexico another time.''_

_Alexa nodded in agreement before knocking on the door, entering when she heard a voice call out. She smiled at Stephanie as she entered the room, Chris following close behind her._

_''Ah, Chris, Alexandra...'' Chris snickered at the use of her full name but was silenced by a death glare from the young woman. ''Glad you could both join me. Take a seat.'' They did as she asked and sat down in the chairs opposite her desk. ''Now, Alexand-''_

_''Call me Lex.'' She insisted._

_''Okay, Lex, the creative team have come up with a storyline for you involving Chris here. Tonight he has a match against Christian and you're going to interfere and help him win the match. Then next week Chris will introduce you to the audience.''_

_Alexa nodded. ''Sounds great.''_

_''Good. Well, I'll let you two go get ready. Chris, show her around, make her feel at home, okay?''_

_''Got it boss.'' Chris saluted her with a grin before grabbing Alexa's hand and pulling her out of the door eagerly._

* * *

It had been the start of a beautiful friendship.

Alexa laughed as he scooped her up in a tight hug and spun her around, placing her back on her feet a few moments later. She re-took her seat as Chris slid into the one beside her, ordering himself a drink from the bartender. They spent several minutes catching up, before the conversation inevitably turned to work.

''So, Stephanie called me the other day.''

''And?'' Chris looked at her expectantly.

''And she wants me to go in for a meeting next week when Raw's in Tampa.'' She finished, lifting her bottle to her lips and taking a swig.

''She, uh, didn't tell you what it's about?'' He asked nonchalantly.

Alexa saw through his faux innocence, narrowing her eyes at him. ''No...''

Chris' lips quirked into a smirk. ''Have you seen those new vignettes they've been showing on Raw?''

''The ones with the super creepy kids?'' Her brow furrowed in confusion. ''What's that got to do with...'' She trailed off and her companion laughed as he watched her eyes light up in realization. ''Oh my God! You're really going back?''

He nodded, a big smile on his face. ''It seems like the wrestling bug has bit me again."

She squealed, clapping her hands together. ''When?''

''January.'' He responded with a chuckle. ''I think you're more excited than I am!"

''I am!" She agreed. ''Wait, what does all this have to do with my meeting with Steph?''

He took a long swig of his drink before replying. ''I _might _have suggested that you make your return soon...''

Her eyes widened. ''Please tell me you're joking?''

''Nope.''

Chris watched on in amusement as she downed the rest of her drink before resting her elbows on the bar and putting her head in her hands. ''Are you fucking serious? Oh my God, Chris! I am nowhere near ready to go back yet!"

''Hey, calm down.'' He soothed, gently rubbing a hand on her back. ''Listen. Nothing's set in stone yet, that's why Steph wanted to talk to you first. But, I've been speaking to Darren and he says you're more than ready... I think you're just scared.''

She snorted and turned to face him.

''You can pretend it's not true all you want.'' He shrugged. ''But I know you well enough to know that you are.

Alexa sucked in a deep breath. ''I _am _scared. What if something goes wrong again? What if-''

''What if, Lex?'' It was Chris' turn to let out a snort. ''What if you get hit by a bus tomorrow? You never know what's going to happen, that's just life. You've just got to roll with it, take the good with the bad. I know how much you miss being out there, in front of those live crowds, doing what you do best. I know because that's exactly how I feel. But it must be even worse for you, missing it _that_ much but being too afraid to get back out there. Stop being a chicken shit. You're the toughest person I know, you can do it, you've just got to take that first step.''

Alexa quietly mulled his words over as he ordered them some more drinks, realizing that he was right, as much as she hated to admit it. ''Thank you.''

''For what?'' He asked, sliding her drink towards her.

''For being a good friend.'' She smiled softly.

''You're my best friend. It's my job to talk sense into you when you need it.'' He replied with a grin. ''So, you going to do it?''

''Yeah, I think so.''

''Yes!" He cried, pumping his fist in the air. He spent a few minutes revelling in his victory before swiftly changing the subject. ''So, anyway, what have you been up to, besides training?''

''Uh, well, do you remember Jon?''

Chris nodded. ''What about him?''

''I've been sleeping with him.'' Alexa blurted out.

Chris spluttered on his drink. ''What?!''

''It's been going on for months.'' She added, avoiding the blonde's gaze. ''But I think I'm starting to get too attached.''

''Uh... I don't understand...''

She shot a sideways glance at her friend, who was gaping at her in disbelief. ''What? You want details?''

''No!" He raised his hands. ''Hell no! I really do not want to think about you doing anything in any kind of bed, with any kind of man, at any time."

Alexa smirked. "Your loss. I mean, he does do the most amazing thing with his-"

''Please, no more.'' He grimaced. ''Just spare me the details and tell me how you got yourself into this mess.''


	20. Chapter 20

**Saturday 26th November**

Alexa was rudely awoken by 'Remedy' by Seether blasting through her ears, her phone somehow having found its way next to her pillow in the night. Grabbing the offending object, she answered the call, not bothering to check the caller ID.

''Y'ello?''

The man on the other end snorted. _''First of all, never say that again.''_

She groaned, rubbing a hand over her face. ''Colby?''

_''Did I wake you?''_

''Uh-huh.'' Alexa closed her eyes trying to ease the intense throbbing in her head. ''I think I have a brain haemorrhage.'' The raucous laughter that followed her statement made her sharply pull the phone away from her ear for a moment. ''What do you want?''

_''Do you have anything planned today?''_

''Dying.'' More heavy laughter followed her croaked reply and she groaned. ''Dude, am I on speaker phone?''

_''Maybe... Anyway, I have the perfect hangover cure.''_

''If it doesn't involve sleeping and/or eating all day then you can count me out.''

_"We're headed over to Cena's gym, you're coming with."_

''Why would I want to do that?''

_''It'll be fun, all the guys will be there. Plus, you'll feel a lot better once you sweat all the alcohol out of your system.''_

''Colby, no, I-''

Jon voice suddenly came through the speaker. _''Tough shit, sweetheart. We're already on our way to your place so you better hurry up and get ready.''_

* * *

After having a quick shower and scrubbing the remnants of the previous nights make-up from her face, she had shoved her hair up into a messy ponytail and pulled on some workout gear. She had just finished lacing up her trainers when she heard a horn toot outside, announcing their arrival. Quickly grabbing her gym bag, keys and phone, she slipped on her sunglasses before making her way outside.

Colby was just stepping out of the back of the car as she approached, wincing as he took in her bedraggled appearance. ''What happened to you last night?''

"Eight shots of tequila happened to me..."

He laughed and stepped aside, gesturing for her to climb in. ''You'll have to squeeze in-between me and Claudio.''

''Hey guys.'' Alexa greeted, as she slid into the backseat, grinning at the Swiss man beside her before looking to the front. Joe was driving while Jon rode shotgun, the latter turning in his chair to face her. He had on a pair of aviator sunglasses, which he somehow managed to pull off quite well.

''You look...''

''Like a train wreck?'' She finished.

''No... maybe a small bus crash.''

He fixed her with one of his trademark schoolboy grins and she felt butterflies start to surface in her stomach. Swallowing heavily, she turned to smile at Colby as he took up the seat next to her. The car soon revved to life and they were on their way.

''Here, this might make you feel a little better.'' Claudio spoke beside her, holding out a bottle of water.

''Thank you.'' She accepted it gratefully, downing half of it before replacing the cap. Her eyes furrowed in concentration as she read the writing on the font of the bottle. ''Why the hell does mineral water that has trickled through mountains for centuries have a 'use by' date?''

* * *

Hard Nocks South was a private gym that John had set up with his friend and trainer, Rob Macintyre. It was named after the original Hard Nocks Gym in Amesbury, Massachusetts which was where John had first started working out. There were dozens of military flags decorating the walls, proudly displaying the affinity and honour that he had for the armed forces. It didn't look like a regular gym with treadmills everywhere. Instead, the entire place had a no frills atmosphere, giving the all important lesson that hard work trumped fancy facilities.

''This is pretty cool.'' Alexa declared as she walked around, taking in everything around her.

''It's awesome.'' Colby pitched in from beside her. ''John lets us use this place when we like.''

''That's really nice of him.''

Jon stepped up beside her, slinging an arm over her shoulder. "Think you're going to be able to hang with the big-boys today, sweetheart?"

''Oh, I know I can.''

She shrugged his arm off and moved away from the small group, pulling off her jacket before getting into her pre-workout stretches.

''You always warm-up before you do a workout?'' Jon teased as he stepped over to her.

''Yep. Keeps the body limber, less risk of injury.'' She replied, sitting on the floor and spreading her legs out, releasing a small groan when the muscles in her thighs and back protested. ''Besides, being bendy has it's perks.''

Several minutes, and a few crude comments later, he wandered off to focus on his own workout, leaving her in peace to finish off her stretching. Once she was fully limbered up, she glanced around, getting a feel for the lay-out of the place as she decided where to begin.

* * *

Jon watched her intently from the other side of the room, drinking in her appearance as she completed her workout. His eyes remained on her as she went through box squats, front and rear laterals and deadlifts before finally stopping for a break. Grabbing a bottle of water and a towel from her bag, she took a seat on a bench and used her towel to wipe at her face.

Colby had been right about this being an effective hangover cure, she looked like she was feeling better than she had been that morning. A thin film of sweat coated her skin, dripping down her face and her arms. She was bouncing her leg up and down as she drank from her bottle; the muscles beneath her tanned skin bunching and contracting underneath. He smirked to himself, the memories he had of trailing his fingers over all that flesh and muscle running through his mind.

When he first arrived at FCW and before actually getting to know her, Jon thought he had Alexa pegged; stereotypical WWE Diva who thought she was too good to talk to anybody down in developmental.

But, after being witness to some of her cringe-worthy training sessions with Tom, and overhearing some of her conversations with Darren and Joe, he had quickly changed his mind; finding there was a lot more to her than first met the eye. On the outside she was all bravado, sarcasm and a tough-as-nails attitude. Underneath it all though, was a fragile heart that she was protecting with all her might.

His curiosity had been piqued, and there had been a few nights where he found himself scouring the internet for her old matches. He had never really cared for women's wrestling before, especially in the WWE where a lot of them were used purely as eye candy. But Alexa really was something else entirely.

Arguably one of the best female wrestlers in the world, she had the total package. She gave the audience everything they wanted: speed, athleticism, power and showmanship. She was such a well-rounded talent; blending power and high-flying, displaying a natural grace in the ring. She amazed fans every time she stepped through those ropes and was able to tap the absolute best out of her opponents. Some wrestlers just have a feel for the sport; it flows through them like their own blood.

Alexa was one of those wrestlers.

As well as her in-ring ability, she was also one of the best female mic workers out there, almost being on par with Stephanie McMahon. He was sure her time spent with Chris Jericho and CM Punk, two of the greatest mic workers in the WWE, helped significantly with that.

As they had started to spend time together, the more he got to know her and the more he started to like her. They friendship between them soon developed into something more and now he found himself fighting to suppress the growing feelings he was having for her. It wasn't just sex to him anymore; he wanted something more.


End file.
